For Better and Worse. Margot Hunt

17 years ago, Natali and William were on their first date. Both Law School students they occupied themselves innocently plotting the perfect murder.

Now happily married, or so Nat thinks, in a seaside town in Florida, they enjoy a Sunday morning on the beach with Charlie, their 11 year old son.

When an emergency meeting is called at Charlies school the perfect life starts to unravel.

Now, as a Criminal Defence Attorney, Nat has a good knowledge of how the law will treat people who end up being either the accused, or the accuser, and she is not sure which is the worse experience.

She has to protect Charlie, but will her husband want, or be capable, of helping in any way.

She is sure Will is having an affair, but little does she know the effect it could have on her plans.

This is a great story and uses a clever little trick to really give the reader a terrific ride.

Most of the story is told in the first person by Nat. Her emotions, her interpretations of events, her thoughts.

But a couple of the chapters are written in the first person from Wills point of view. Does he see things like his wife does. The secrets he is keeping from Nat, and how he tries to balance her world with his.

This psychological thriller explores a mother and a father and how far they would go to protect their child. Two very different approaches, two very different ethos, with one aim. Keep Charlie safe.

This is a great story. I loved the way the two main characters have a common need, but both have very different ways of trying to achieve it.

This is no normal husband, wife, combined front. This is two people struggling to find a way to survive a series of events and come out of it in one piece. But one of them has a very different idea of what that should be achieved.

This is the first Margot Hunt book I’ve read. It definitely won’t be the last.

Pages: 384
Publisher: Mira Books
Publishing Date UK: 11th December 2018.

This was one of the best mystery/thrillers I have read in a long time.
This book was a page turner even from the beginning. Once you get into the plot, it’s impossible to put down.
There’s a lot to ponder about Nat and Will’s relationship throughout the novel. I love that the author keeps the book at a curious page, but it’s still impossible to put down. The ending will leave you blew my mind, it was definitely not what I was expecting.

I was just going to peek at this Netgalley advanced review copy of the thriller For Better and Worse to be released a full six months from now in December 2018 but it drew me in and I read it all in one sitting .Unfortunately, that sitting was when I should have been sleeping and I am paying for it today. The characters of lawyers Natalie and her husband Will Clarke were richly drawn and I was caught up in seeing if they could get away with the "perfect murder" when they find out that their young son has been molested.

Till death do us part
When they fell in love back in law school, Natalie and Will Clarke joked that they were so brilliant, together they could plan the perfect murder. After fifteen rocky years of marriage, they had better hope they’re right.
Their young son Jacob’s principal is accused of molesting a troubled student. It’s a horrifying situation—and the poison spreads rapidly. One night before bed, Jacob tells Natalie he is a victim, too. In that moment, her concept of justice changes forever. Natalie decides the predator must die.
To shelter Jacob from the trauma of a trial, Natalie concocts an elaborate murder plot and Will becomes her unwilling partner. The Clarkes are about to find out what happens when your life partner becomes your accomplice—and your alibi. Goodreads
This book was a real page turner!! I know I know, I say that all the time but, it was!! 😉😉 When I think of all the possible endings to this book, this was NOT the one I had imagined! And yet, it was a nice change from the stories I've read lately. NO spoilers but, if you're a parent, you'll probably agree with what happens...I hope that wasn't a spoiler!!
BUT, there's still another twist, ohh did you think I was done? Haha, nope this thriller/suspense just turns the wheels in your brain as you're reading.
Interesting to note, I'd never heard of this author before but, thanks to NetGalley they approved me to receive an #arc and I'm so glad they did!! Thanks #netgalley, I really enjoyed this read. It was twisted, honest and overall, scary. I definitely recommend it, there were some spots where I had the thought of "really? Could you come up with something just a little different and not so typical" but, the author did a great job researching in the right areas and getting the story across.
It's a fast read so, be prepared to not want to put it down and finish in one sitting.
Thanks for reading and I hope you're reading something great!

A propulsive thriller with intriguing characters based on an all too common situation with an unusual denouement. When her son's teacher and her good friend is accused of sexually abusing a child, Nat finds herself contemplating an act that will change everyone's life forever - including ten year old Charlie. Well written, with sympathetic characters and realistic dialog.

Oh man. One part domestic thriller (philandering husband), one part murder mystery (not whodunit, but will they get away with it?), one part "I have to suspend my disbelief with a construction crane" ... well, that's how you get For Better and Worse.

Nat and Will are lawyers, raising their young son together in the idyllic suburbs. Suddenly, a dramatic shift rocks their tight-knit community, and the justice system (yet again) fails where it should be succeeding. This sets Nat out on a path of revenge - after all, she had her husband had talked about how to commit the perfect crime on their first date - what better way to test that theory?

There is some inconsistency (a therapist who is obviously a mandated reporter definitely not doing his mandated reporter job, for instance), but above all this is a wildly gallivanting thriller if you can pretend the legal system functions differently while between these covers.

First, I really did enjoy this story. I read it in one day. I was intrigued by Will and Nic's relationship and I liked how the book began with their first date and then flashed forward to them at the beach with their child. I was invested in the characters and I was so mad at Will for his marital indiscretions. I wanted them to work things out. There was one moment where Nic thought that maybe she and Will had never been happy, but I felt there wasn't a lot of the relationship analysis from her. She didn't seem to either want it to work nor did she care if it fell apart. I wasn't completely sold on the ending with the Sheriff's decision. However, I grew up in a small town in the south and I do suppose I could see something like that happening. I actually liked that Nic turned vigilante at the end and went to pursue her former friend. It certainly left the book open ended enough to have a sequel.

Secondly, there were a few grammatical mistakes that I noticed. At 13% in, at the assembly: "I was still so shocked, I was finding it hard to breath." Should be breathe. At 15% in: "He claims that it happened last month when the seventh graders were on their overnight class trip to the St. Augustine." I believe either the "the" can be removed or it needs to mention a locale in St. Augustine. At 27%: "Forget about it. I was upset. It had too much wine." Should be "I" had too much wine. At 65%: ""You're father?" I asked." Should be "Your" (Will speaking at the dinner party.) There was also a minor inconsistency towards the end. Nat was thinking to herself about Tate's adoption she mentions that Tate's mother told her at a fundraiser for the kids' school about all the hoops they had to jump through to become foster parents. However, she tells Nat this on her back porch over tea when Nat stops by, almost verbatim. While it doesn't mean that she didn't tell her twice, I think it flows better for the book to change the piece at the end where Nat remembers it from the porch conversation. I also believe my copy had several spellings of Jaime/Jamie.

Overall, a good book but may need another pass at editing.

A little predictable but I have to say, I kind of like Margot Hunt's books. They have "twist" but you don't feel like the whole book is working up to it, there is a lot of other things going on as well. I don't know if it needed to switch perspectives though.

Thank you to NetGalley and HARLEQUIN for an advanced read in exchange for this review.  

Natalie and Will are married.  They're both lawyers.  On their first date back in law school, they joked that they could commit the perfect murder.  Now, the joke has become reality as someone in the community has harmed their child. Natalie knows the broken legal system won't bring justice and will traumatize Will even more.  

An overall solid read, except for one part which I will get to in a second.  Natalie and Will's marriage is already strained.  Natalie suspects an affair as Will has lost weight and is always guarding his phone.  Their marriage plays an important part in the story.  The ending was satisfactory, and me, as a reader, hung on as I wondered what would happen to Natalie and Will as the story unfolded.  

I was a little confused with one aspect of the story though.  Why didn't the therapist report Charlie's abuse?  This part bothered me.  I don't care (well, I kind of do) that Natalie did not want to, but the therapist certainly was obligated to.  Natalie just planned for therapy and then was going to sweep all of this under the rug?  While everyone is poking holes into the original accuser's story because he's "a bad foster kid", she can't come forward to bring credibility to the accuser?  Natalie is angry about someone not reporting how terrible Robert is, yet she is doing the exact same thing.  Pot meet Kettle.  I had originally intended to give this a higher rating, but writing this review and thinking of this part has changed my mind.  

I will say that there were two spellings of Jaime in the book.  I imagine this will be corrected before the novel is officially published.

*Thanks to NetGalley and MIRA for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.* How far would you go to keep your child safe? Are some crimes so bad that the only punishment can be death? How strong is a marriage? These are just a few of the questions that Hunt has readers ponder in her latest offering, 'For Better and Worse.' Will and Natalie are high-achieving lawyers and parents to a 11-year-old Jacob, when they hear the horrifying news that the principal of their son's private school has been arrested for molesting a students. I am loathe to reveal much more of the plot as I wish to avoid any chance of a spoiler in this well-written and fast-paced thriller. A thoroughly enjoyable read that you won't want to put down. I enjoyed Hunt's previous novel, 'Best Friends Forever,' but this is better again. A brilliant, thrilling read with quite a few twists thrown in at the end.

I received For Better and Worse by Margot Hunt for free through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but got very into it. I was thinking that it would be a romance, but it absolutely is not. I don't want to ruin the story, so cannot say much about the story, but it is very suspenseful and the characters are not how you would expect deep down. I thought about this book for long after I finished reading it. I will definitely look for more by this author.

Good read, even though it was a bit formulaic. I felt like the door was left open for a sequel, which would be fascinating!

4.5 stars. Hunt does it again, draws you into a story and makes you see why people take the actions they take. Her writing is always so developed and done in a manner that makes the reader yearning for more pages. This book was thrilling, intense, and had me as a parent fighting for the ones who I should've been against. I truly think that Hunt will soon be one of the best selling suspense writers out there, because she is definitely one that creates the perfect suspense story and keeps her readers tense and holding breathe and wanting more.
Will be recommending highly in Chapter Chatter Pub!

4/5 stars

This was a very unique and intriguing book, and it definitely kept me interested throughout. It was interesting to see how things woukd turn out throughout the book considering the background of our main characters. It was also interesting to see how they developed throughout, with some being only a sliver of who they once were. I thought it was a great read, and would definitely recommend it. if you like mysteries or thrillers, definitely give this a shot.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my review.

For Better and Worse was Margot Hunt's sophmore effort, and it was only slightly disappointing. It was good - right up until that epilogue, which I'm still uncertain about. I can't tell if it's getting 4 stars because of or despite it, but 4 stars it gets. Best Friends Forever was phenomenal; it got an easy 5 stars. This one was a hair less enthralling. But I can say with certainty that I am very excited for MH's next book, and will be trying to get that one early as well.

*Thanks to Margot Hunt, NetGalley, and the publisher for the advance copy

What an incredible ride this one takes you on. 5+ stars! Couldn't put this one down, so much happening. Fantastic book!!




Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an early release of this book.

So crazy!! Natalie and Will no longer are the people they were when they got married, so when their son tells that he had been sexually abused, their reactions surprise them! The story alternates between their viewpoints and we really learn more about each one! The situation seems very realistic as do their reactions. I had a hard time putting the book down -- I HAD to keep reading! It was a great story!

Very interesting read... creeped me out at times. The characters really came to life which is impressive. A lot going on in this one. Still worth a read though if you are into thrillers.

Great thriller - such a page turner, I felt stressed out as I got closer to the end! Hunt creates an impossible ethical situation for her two main characters, Natalie and Will. Given the nightmare that comes into their life, they make a decision in how they'll respond, which doesn't go nearly as smoothly as they anticipated. This book will keep you guessing until the end - unsure of who you should be rooting for!

Wow! Very unique and intriguing book. Such a difficult topic to write about but this author did a great job. Kept me reading on the edge of my seat with all the twists and turns. Really makes you think and wonder what you or someone would do in this situation. Ending was not what I was expecting but it was good. Highly recommend this book!