I am out of step with the great majority of readers, but I'm afraid I didn't get on with The Innocent Wife.

Sam, an insecure and lonely teacher from England, falls for a man on Death Row in Florida with whose case she has been fascinated for years. She visits him in the Florida jail, becomes involved in the making of a new documentary about the case and then delightedly agrees to marry him. As the book and the research for the film progress, we get a psychological study of Sam and a "did he/didn't he?" plot which becomes very sinister and threatening.

My problem with the book is principally that I simply didn't find Sam's character either interesting or convincing. I can see the points Amy Lloyd is making, but I just didn't believe it, somehow. Added to this a plot which felt very well-worn and, frankly, I just lost interest.

I'm sorry to be critical of a decently-written book, and especially of a first novel, but that's my honest reaction. I seem to be virtually alone in this so don't let me put you off; plenty of thoughtful readers enjoyed The Innocent Wife very much, but it wasn't for me.

(I received an ARC via NetGalley)

Dennis Danson is a convicted killer on death row, having been charged with the brutal murder of a young girl in Florida's Red River County. He claims he's innocent and has a huge following, who believe in his innocence. After twenty years in prison, his case is now the subject of a true crime documentary, which raises his profile to an ever increasing audience, particularly online. Thousands of miles away in the UK, Samantha, a schoolteacher, is one of those who become infatuated with him, she believes he's innocent, and regularly contributes to online forums for like minded people, eager to discover the truth, convinced of his wrongful conviction. She begins to correspond with him and decides to visit him in person. Sam is won over by Dennis - he's charming and softly spoken, and it isn't long before she's left her old life behind, marries him, and joins the campaign for his release. The campaign is successful, and Dennis and Sam can now begin married life in earnest, but Sam starts to have concerns about Dennis's involvement in the murder. Added to that, how much does Dennis really know about Sam, the eponymous innocent wife?

Sam becomes increasingly doubtful about Dennis's innocence, he's very much a man of contradictions and his mood can change at the flick of a switch. But how do you approach this terrifying subject with him when you're so fearful of his answer?

I found that right from the start there was an underlying tension - like the calm before the storm, just waiting for the real story to reveal itself. As the storyline progressed, the fear became palpable, with some extremely tense moments, and every time I put the book down, I was itching to pick it up again. A dark psychological thriller, with some heart pounding scenes make this a really riveting read!

* Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for my ARC in exchange for an honest review *

This is possibly one of the best books I’ve ever read. You cannot stop reading it. With every page comes a new revelation.
The characters are real. The story believable.
I’m so impressed. Do not hesitate to read this!
The only bad bit was I’ve finished it!!

Sam is the English school teacher who starts a pen pal relationship with a convicted killer, Dennis, on death row. Eventually she flies to the USA and visits him. From there she gets caught up with the film crew who are making a netflix documentary in the vein of "Making A Murderer", before she knows it she is swept up in the process to prove his innocence and to set him free. She marries him when he is behind bars, and then the case breaks and he is set free. However, all is not as it seems and the man Sam has spent months writing to and reading about may not be as known to her as she thought.

The phenomenon of women who start relationships with killers is an intriguing one, but the book only scratches the surface of this and the hints that Sam hides a troubled past are not explored in sufficient detail to add any more to what could have been a fascinating thread running alongside the main story.

The plot cracks along at a great pace and the events that it introduces are fascinating, but seem to trail off quickly. Some of the characters that are introduced, such as Howard and Lindsey, I found really frustrating because there was no real exploration of their ties to Dennis. Dennis remains an enigma which adds to the unease that the book sets up, but I would have liked Sam to have been a little more fleshed out. Had she been I could have got on board with the epilogue of the book more than I did.

The end of the book was an explosion of activity that seemed to come from no-where. I found the description of the photographs gratuitous and unnecessary and felt that they were just described for the shock value. I felt that while things were wrapped up, it was done far too quickly and the epilogue set Sam up as something of a mastermind, keeping her man where she wants him, but this is at odds with how her character developed throughout the book.

Thanks go to the publishers and netgalley for the advanced copy in return for an honest rev

A crime mystery that is topical in its approach and characters. Sam, a lonely teacher in England becomes obsessed with the story of a convicted killer Dennis Danson, on death row in Florida for the murder of a teenage girl twenty years before and the subject of a documentary. They develop a relationship through letters and convinced he is innocent Sam travels to America and marries Dennis. Once new evidence emerges that Dennis is innocent, he is released and the couple start a new life but all is not what it seems. A dark, twisted tale with flawed but believable characters and is a very satisfying read.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Samantha is a teacher from England who has become obsessed with a convicted prisoner on death row. After watching a program about him her obsession increases until she leaves England and moves to America. Dennis is exonerated after new dna is found and they set about their married life but nothing is what it seems.

I’m really not sure what I thought of this book. I found myself glazing over parts and then rereading other parts as I was a bit confused but all in all it was a good read.

A great debut-well written, and a gripping read. looking forward to the author's next book.

After watching making a murderer on Netflix I was intrigued by the description of this book and I wasn't at all disappointed . Dennis Danson is on death row for the murder of a young girl 20 years ago , his story is the subject of a true crime documentary and he has a lot of people trying to get him released . Samantha starts to write to him and she is soon taken in by his apparent charm and gentleness , she soon leaves her life in England to marry him and join the campaign to overturn his conviction . This is where things start to get very interesting as after he is freed bit by bit he is revealed to be not as Sam thought , she is quite weak and goes along with everything Dennis wants and she did end up really getting on my nerves , but that just shows how good the book is ! Really original and an excellent read .

I found this book slightly unbelievable. Would a professional woman, living on the other side of the world really give up everything for a convicted murderer who she believed to be innocent? That said there were some interesting plot twists and turns that kept me reading to the end.

Obviously this premise was going to speak to me. I am fascinated with the whole death row thing, as well as the women who marry these men there. Surreal, crazy stuff. I very briefly skimmed this synopsis and gave it a shot, and I have no regrets.

The Innocent Wife is an extremely absorbing read. It gets cracking really quickly, and doesn't waste your time. The plot pacing is a little all over the show because it starts with a bang, and while it remains engrossing, the middle section feels a little all over the show. That does not hurt the read though, as it is engaging and a super fast read. I really enjoyed the premise of this one (I mean we have all watched documentaries about convicted murderers/wrongfully convicted folks and everyone has an opinion on the death penalty), and felt at times it was a little predictable, but not too often, so it makes for a super immersive read.

Sam is a character who initially comes across as insipid and weak, and then when you see later is actually a hot mess in life. She is a particular brand of strange, because she pushes people away, has a super mean streak that bubbles to the surface from time to time, is super jealous and she lives in her head and shuts out the world. She also made Dennis her life, her whole world, and that is just sad. The relationship between Dennis and Sam is an odd one, and he is a cruel bastard to her at times, but she, too, is just weird. They are not particularly well suited for one another, and yet you want to read all there is to read about their twisted romance.

I did like the way that the book was structured, skipping between a book that was written about Dennis Danson and the accusations levelled against him, as well as letters between him and Sam, and then to what is going on between them in real life. It definitely works to keep up suspense. The book is really well written and lingers with you when you (sadly) have to go about your day to day (read: job that pays your bills) activities. I just wanted to read!

I am impressed that The Innocent Wife is Amy Lloyd's first novel, and will most certainly be keeping my eyes peeled to see what else she comes up with in the future. I would say that this book is well worth the read!

** spoiler alert ** Samantha. Clingy, paranoid and possessive Words uses by Mark to describe Sam, the woman with whom he wanted a “no-strings” relationship. Sam knew how to sulk and her fighting destroyed their relationship, in Bristol.

Sam takes to her computer and comes across an online group campaigning for a case review for ‘the boy from Red River’, a prisoner on Death Row in the USA, found guilty of the horrific murder of a young girl some 20 years ago. Sam doesn’t just participate, she becomes involved. Why on earth would she do that? There are many persons in the USA who consider the verdict unsound. Dennis Danson is innocent…

Sam begins to correspond with Dennis - for months. Declares that she loves him. Naive and sentimental, stupid even. When he replies that he loves her too she decides to travel to Florida where Danson is incarcerated, to meet him. Meets his campaign team and… decides to marry him. A strange companionship develops between Sam and Dennis, either side of a visitor’s glass screen. And all the time I felt somewhat detached from the story line…

When the totally unexpected happens and another inmate confesses to the murder, Danson is pardoned and released from prison amidst mounting media hysteria. Sam is faced with the reality of a real husband/wife relationship.

Revelations emerge about other girls who went missing from Red River, so many years ago. Sam becomes indignant when locals voice their opinion that Danson was responsible. But as their relationship develops, doubt starts to fill Sam’s mind. Is there anything in these accusations? Does her paranoia emerge? Does she find evidence that she tries to conceal? Foolhardy?

There is much more to the plot that, to reveal, would spoil for others.

For me? It did not make my pulse race. It is well written, but I expected more.

With thanks to Random House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting and unusual premise and the story was quite interesting but the writing style was a tad superficial which detracted from the characterisation and meant that this fell short of where it might have been. Disappointing.

Overall this book was good however I found the start a bit slow. The story once it gets going is interesting but I found it hard to like most of the characters. Sam the leading lady is a little namby pamby for me and despite her reservations marries a recently released death row inmate. I found it hard to empathise with her. Dennis the inmate is cold and calculating and I felt uneasy when reading about him, so in this respect the book is good as it evoked an edge of your seat response from me. I found the ending a bit rushed and again I wanted to shake Sam inot reality. The reading of this book was easy, however disliking most of the characters distracted me from enjoying it completely.

I was intrigued by this book. I've recently watched the Making a Murderer series on Netflix and there seems to be a lot of similarities to Dennis Danson in The Innocent Wife. Man is imprisoned for something it appears impossible that he has done. The public rally to get him released, and ask for new evidence. However, I wasn't convinced by Samantha's character. I appreciated that Sam was meant to have some flawed characteristics, but they just made her seem whiny and annoying to me. I find it difficult to root for a character I don't like. I also hate reading about characters falling in love when they barely know each other, and that seems to be exactly what happened in the beginning of the book. It appeared that they were falling in love over quite a long time, but the reader wasn't shown that, and so it felt a little awkward. Even though I didn't like Samantha, I thought that Amy Lloyd has done a really good job with the pacing in this book. I was on the edge of my seat for a lot of it and really did feel nervous in some of the more dramatic scenes! I also thought that the ending was very satisfying, and exactly how it should have ended. I would definitely recommend other people picking up this book - I just don't think it was for me.

If you were a fan of "Making a Murderer" then you will love this!
My only quibble is that the ending came in a bit of a rush and boom! It was over!
Between a 4 and 5 star I think!

I thought when I starting reading this book it would be usual grip lit. I was surprisingly wrong.
The book centred around a Death Row Prisoner and his relationships with those around him. With the question being How well does anyone know him?
The main character was explored well, however other lead characters and even important peripheral characters were skimmed over and not enough depth given. I did feel that Sam, the girlfriend/wife could have been explored a lot more and an explanation as to why she was fascinated with this man on Death Row.
This was a real page turner without being overly complicated and I finished this book in one evening, storyline was good, twist at the end which was expected as with all good thrillers. Nice that the ending was left open so a sequel is possible.
I will be recommending this book to others, perfect reading for a cold winter's night.

This book was given to me to read and review by Netgalley.

Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. Well I have to say this book had me wanting more. It took a while to get into the story, I thought it went on a bit before the actual story started. I was for closing it after chapter 3 but kept going, I’m glad I did. It turned out to be a very good book. Great storyline and great characters they played the part well. Good suspense book and good twist at the end, although I kinda figured it out early on. Worth 5 stars and I’ll recommend it to anyone.

This one was not for me and was just ok. It meanders along at too slow a pace and I felt that the story was not very well developed.

It was easy to see (in the early stages) which way this book was headed from the interactions between Sam and Dennis, therefore there were few surprises along the way. One wanted to shout in panto fashion, “He’s behind you!” to the needy Sam in the shadow of the too good to be true Dennis. The best past was the latter third when the pace hotted up and the ending was in sight.

Couldn’t wait to read this. Really got into it. Struggled with the end thou, I kinda knew what was gonna happen early on. Good read just didn’t find the twists and turns were unexpected