I chose this book, because I've always wondered what persuades someone to have a long distance relationship like this, with all the issues it involves, and still go ahead and get married. Dennis was a very large character, right from the start, and maybe he did need someone on his side, or maybe he just manipulated it, because he could.

And Sam, not quite as straighforward as you originally think she is, which adds to the complexities. Add to that another person, with equally complicated issues, and you just know its going to be a rocky ride.

Loads of suspense and some gruesome discoveries, but all along the way, you're left wondering, and feeling sorry for Dennis at one point, and then really not liking him at all a few pages later. Sam for same, was she completely innocent, why did she stay with him.

I liked the book at lot, and would thoroughly recommend it.

Twenty years ago Dennis was convicted of the brutal murder of Holly but recently his case has come to the attention of a TV show and they are trying to prove his innocence

Sam lives in England and has become obsessed with the Dennis case, so much so that she starts to write to him in prison. Dennis responds and gradually a romance builds up through the letters and Sam moves to the US to marry him, much to the delight of the TV company!

When Sam is released from prison though the book really comes into its own - what has Sam done...... is there more to the case than she thought, is Dennis really innocent and is she herself in danger?

A great book full of intrigue and suspense, a real page turner that I definitely recommend

wow, just wow! Brilliantly written, kept me hooked from page one. Highly recommended.

after reading the narrative for this book I was excited to receive a copy of it from Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Samantha is a school teacher from England who appears to be abit of a loner and slightly needy. Dennis Danson is a convicted criminal who is on Death Row in the States for the murder of a local teenager, Holly Michaels. Many believe he is responsible for many more murders. However, there are many more that believe he is a victim of a miscarriage of justice and is completely innocent of any crime. Samantha being one of them.

Dennis' plight is subject to a documentary programme campaigning his innocence and causing a media storm. Sam and Dennis become pen pals and eventually "fall in love"!

Sam becomes caught up in the media and film crews burning desire to have Dennis released from Death Row and exonerated for crimes he didn't commit and even marries Dennis which is all documented by the cameras for the programme.

Dennis is released and then the doubts of his innocence start!

Whilst I enjoyed the book I did find the characters annoying and the ending disappointing.

Even though I thought this book was well written and had an interesting storyline, I personally found Sam irritating and wanted to give her a shake, and ask her what's wrong with you?
That said, I would recommend this read, it has a lot of good qualities, you are easily drawn into the plot and able to visualize the scenes as they unfold due the simplicity of the writers descriptions. Could see this book being adapted into a film.

Thank you Netgalley, Cornerstone and Amy Lloyd for allowing me to read and review this book.

Can you really trust the man you're married to? What about if he's a convicted killer? Can you continue to argue his innocence when the world thinks he's guilty?

As an avid listener of true crime podcasts, I loved the concept of 'The Innocent Wife'. I'm deeply fascinated by women who write to men on death row, even more so when they marry them. I really liked the idea of a book which goes some way to examining that and also looking at what can happen to a marriage if (and it's a big if) they're ever released. How can a marriage work when you've never really been able to spend time with each other and/or figure out if you even like each other?

However, there are a few problems with this book. Sam, the main protagonist, is such a sad and depressed woman and we never really get to the heart of why this, bar a few mentions of a relationship which ended badly. There are a few hints about a dysfunctional relationship with her mother, but this is never really delved into and I think it would go some way to provide context behind why she makes the decisions she makes. As a result, it makes it very difficult to relate to (or even like) her and I spent far too much of the book being annoyed that no one suggests that she gets some help to deal with her underlying issues as well as the utterly bizarre situation she's been thrown into.

It also takes a really long time to get going. We're almost halfway into the book before Dennis gets released from jail and it never really feels like Sam suspects him of murder (no spoilers here, but one of the key moments of plot seems to emerge accidentally and is more due to acute jealousy than suspicion of terrible deeds.) If you stick with it, things do progress at a cracking pace, but you have to get past a lot of pointless plot diversions first.

All that considered, this is a better thriller than many others I've read this year and has a cracking concept which I'm sure will bring it lots of readers. It just needs a sharper editor!

I was thoroughly hooked from the start. I really like the fact that it started in the UK and moved to US. There were wonderful and original plot twists and at the climax I was so tense I shouted at my husband for daring to interrupt me. Really fantastic debut novel and will recommend highly to all my friends. Can't wait to read more from Amy.

After watching a programme on an American prisoner held on Death Row, Samantha becomes involved in the efforts to prove the prisoner (Dennis) innocent. She gives up her life in England and moves to America with the help of the film crew doing a documentary following him. Dennis and Samantha fall in love and she marries him in prison. A new witness to the crime appears and Dennis is suddenly released and they are thrown together. she learns more and more about Dennis and his past which comes back to play a major part in their lives. Is he guilty after all? Is Samantha such an innocent wife? all will be revealed.

An action packed book full of suspense. When Sam reads about Dennis who is on death row, her life changes forever. She along with others becomes involved in a campaign to free him, believing that he has been wrongly convicted. Sam writes to Dennis and ends up flying from England to the States to visit him. The question the whole way through the book is, is Dennis guilty? There are clues the whole way through and everything is revealed piece by piece. I liked the way the suspense built and built. I read this book in one sitting. I could not put it down. The only let down was the ending. I am not totally happy with some aspects of it. On the whole though a really good book.

Loved reading the story of Samantha falling for a convicted murderer Dennis on death row and the story that follows! Recommended indeed!

I had often wondered what made women start a relationship with someone in prison, especially if for murder.., this book gave some clarity. This was a great read with the personal relationships so well described. Sam is portrayed as a well educated girl, who lacks confidence in herself, does not like her life in the UK and is taken with what she sees as an injustice and in so doing falls for a criminal who has purportedly murdered young girls. There are many innuendo’s throughout as to what happened to her and her boyfriend Mark and it near the end that the reader finds out. Dennis Danson gives her a reason to feel good about herself and she fights for his freedom. Suddenly a gel called Lyndsey appears and threatens her happiness and it is the relationship of Sam, Dennis and Lyndsey that form the main part of the story. There are many sidelines describing relationships with other characters that added so much to this story. The ending was totally unexpected. I am so glad Amy entered, and won, the competition for this her first novel and I look forward to seeing what else she writes.

This book was one of the best reads of this year. Sam, a girl from a broken down relationship starts writing to a guy on death row. As the relationship over letters develops Sam decides to travel to America to visit him. Unbelievably she agrees to marry him never thinking he would be released. A journalist, Carrie, is campaining for Dennis to be released as she believes, along with others that he is innocent and , of course, Dennis does get the conviction overturned and regains his freedom.
The story then becomes very unnerving. The characters are so believable and Sam is so vulnerable and desperately wants the relationship to work. I do not want to give any spoilers but will say that this book is not to be missed. I really wanted to scream at Sam in places and held my breath in others. A fantastic read.

The description of the book intrigued me and from the first few pages I was hooked.
Half way through I thought I'd guessed the ending..... but Boy was I wrong!
A good read which kept me thinking.... young attractive woman becomes obsessed with a death row prisoner.
What is the attraction in the first place? ...... why would she want to have a relationship with him?.... how does she endure the liaison when she realises her dreams were just that, fantasies?
The story starts like a documentary, as this is part of the plotline, it makes interesting reading and gives a good background to who Dennis is and what he could be capable of. The rest of the story is told from the point of Sam, his admirer, their relationship and the psychological drama that ensues.
Both the main characters, Sam & Dennis have layers that are slowly peeled away the further you go into the story.
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

Despite the content of this book, I found it a straightforward compelling read. What makes seemingly ordinary women want to contact a prisoner on Death Row?
Samantha is a young school teacher from England who has recently become single. She finds online details of Dennis Danson a man who was sentenced to the death penalty at the age of 18 for the abduction and murder of an 11 year old girl in America. He is subject of a documentary and campaign to free him as there is a strong group of followers who believe him to be innocent and the victim of a local hate campaign by locals and the police. We follow the progression of Samantha and Dennis's relationship via letters they sent each other - the early format of the book I found quite difficult to settle in to as a lot of it is the transcripts of their letters and sections of crime reports and books written about the case. It isn't long before Samantha has booked a flight over to meet him in prison and he soon proposes marriage.
Then suddenly there is a breakthrough and Samantha finds herself in a whole new scenario as Dennis's wife when he is released. She has doubts about his feelings for her and indeed whether he really is innocent. The reader is party to all her thought processes and reasoning and the tension builds quite spectacularly through the second half of the book. Old grudges and suspicions come to the fore and people from Dennis's past return to have their say, leading Samantha to realise just how little she really knows about her husband. I hate to use the time-honoured phrase that I didn't want to put this book down, but especially towards the end of the book I couldn't read fast enough to find out what had actually happened all those years before and what that meant for Samantha and Dennis' relationship.
A great read that will have the hairs on the back of your neck prickling.
This review will be posted on my blog at www.sandiesbookshelves.blogspot.co.uk nearer to publication date.

2 people meet 1 holding back happy in a world of restriction and behind plexiglass. The run up one of obsession and leaving all that she loves behind. An English girl winding up in USA a guy on death row her main focus. She does all to prove him innocent and it works he is released but all is not squeeky clean. The man she has fallen in love with and given her all to is making her suspicious and she knows she has to investigate further.
This novel is fast paced, unbelievable and gritty. You find yourself rooting for the heroine but understanding the incarcerated.
Thank you to netgalley, the author and the publisher for an advanced copy these comments are solely my own.

I really enjoyed this book. It has believable characters, is fast moving and thought provoking.
I'm not certain what makes women write to men on Death Row but here we have Samantha ,vulnerable after an unpleasant break up from her boyfriend, writing to a condemned man (Dennis) . She ,through social media, has become convinced of his innocence. They meet, they marry and then he is released………………..I tell you no more so as not to spoil a very interesting story. Highly recommended.

Well.... what do I say! This story had me conflicted all the way through, Did he? Didn't he? Will She? Wont She? A really gripping thrilling ride of a story, with a great ending!

would like to thank netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this book

to becoming a penpal to a prisoner then to actually go out to that country and meet him and then marry him and try to get him released for a crime he supposedly didnt commit....well you do have to wonder about some people dont you...as this could be taken from real life

but the actual story wasnt bad...the build up in suspense was right from the start, easy to know characters in the book and then wham the answers come, i felt a bit of a weird ending but on the whole not a bad read

I loved the plot line of this book and was excited to read it, unfortunately however I did not end up enjoying it. It had all the makings of a book I’d love, however I had to restart it three times just to try and get into it, and although I liked it enough to want to see it through to the end, I definitely would not say it had me gripped, and I would not recommend it to a friend.

I think the main issue was that I didn't feel any kind of empathy with any of the characters. This made the book hard to connect with. I feel it needed more preamble into Sophie's background to allow us to get to like her. Instead I was left feeling annoyed at her naivety didn't feel sorry for her at all. It could have been much better had I been able to connect with her character especially. I didn’t feel that any of the characters were likeable, I imagine this was how it was supposed to be but it didn’t work for me.

I found the overall pace slow, except Dennis' release from prison which seemed to happen all too fast! The story didn’t seem to develop properly, with lots of things that weren't answered about that plot, which left me a bit uninspired by the end.

Unfortunately, for me, it just did not live up to how good it could have been.

Well Amy Lloyd, if this is your first novel I can’t wait to see what you come up with next!

Dennis Danson is a long-term Death Row inmate, who’s case, due to Danson’s boyish good looks and the flimsy evidence that he was convicted on, has attracted both media interest and large numbers of internet followers. One such follower is Sam, a young, single, school teacher from the UK who’s devotion shines through her letters. At Dennis’ request she drops her life in England, visits and then marries him.

When new evidence comes to light Dennis is exonerated and he and Sam begin their life together. It doesn’t take long before it becomes apparent that neither one are quite who the other thought, in particular Sam starts to question if Dennis is quite as innocent as he first seemed.

In a cleverly crafted thriller, Amy Lloyd has put together a highly addictive, unputdownable novel that ratchets up the tension. This is a doozie of a book that’s well worth a read.

Thanks to Net Galley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.