I hate when a man uses his fists to win an argument.

I hate when a man manipulates the woman to believe that she deserves it

I hate when a man likes getting his way around, undermining a woman’s confidence.

And I hate when a man uses the woman’s bank balance as his personal investment back-up.

And this book had all that, and the man not only found one such woman, but he got two of them to believe him. The story made my skin crawl. The physical abuse was atrocious leading one woman to drive her car into the sea. I wanted nothing more than for this man to be tortured, for this man to know what the strength of a woman was!! The book had the points of view of both women, sharing their lives before and after this man, along with an intermittent unknown narrator.

What strongly niggled me, caused by skin to erupt in mini volcanoes, caused me to literally want to throw my kindle (no no, I didn’t. I love my kindle.) was the women received proof, literally falling into their hands about their husband being a murderer, AND THEY STILL DON’T BELIEVE IT!! After being battered and hit on every part of the body, including being pushed down the stairs or ladder (which caused the miscarriage), they did not believe he could be a murderer!!
The book did end in a twist, had its own delightful, mystical, magical moments, it was a thriller. But for most parts, it was abuse and cowering. Overall, a good read!!

This is another brilliant book from Laura Elliott. The story revolves around Nicholas, his first wife Amelia and his present wife Elena. Nicholas and Elena meet at her mother’s funeral. Elena moves in with him but soon discovers that he has never got over the death of Amelia, who presumably drowned when her car went into the sea. Before long cracks start to appear in their relationship and we realise that Nicholas is a cruel psychopath. Elena ensures a lot of physical and psychological abuse from Nicholas and when the story switches to Amelia we find a similar pattern. Then when Elena makes a discovery about Amelia’s past it brings things to a head. This is a very dark and disturbing read. A chilling and suspenseful thriller with plenty of twists and turns.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This tense domestic suspense thriller covers ground which has been well trodden in recent years - abuse by a charming psychopath concealed by an apparently perfect marriage, so if you read a lot in this genre, which I have this year, the basic premise will feel very familiar. There is a slightly unusual spin on things, however, which I liked once I worked out what was going on.

Returning to Ireland after the unexpected death of her mother after several years in Australia, Elena is distraught and vulnerable when she meets handsome banker Nicholas, and is rapidly swept up into a passionate romance. Things turn sour when she realises he is still obsessed with his wife, Amelia, whose car slid into the sea years earlier, her body never found. This is told in three parts, Elena’s story in the present, Amelia’s in the past, with extra narration from her best friend, and then back to the present.

I found the first part hard to read, as Elena tolerates the escalating physical and psychological abuse that Nicholas dishes out even quite early in the relationship, when she had every opportunity to leave. She is supposedly depressed about her mother’s death (although was not so bothered about her poor widowed mother when she flitted off to Oz) but even so, warning signs should have been blaring. I contemplated abandoning this around 30% in, as it seemed obvious what was going to happen, and probably would’ve had it not been a NetGalley ARC. I am glad I didn’t, as Amelia’s story was a lot more interesting, even though she too, as a smart independent career woman, should’ve walked away at the first punch, and then the fightback in the final third had me gripped.

My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review and my apologies for this being past the publication date, which was 24.08.18.

Absolutely fabulous book which I think would make a well received movie. The Wife Before Me reakly was,a page turner. I was gripped by both the story line and the characters. Emotional tense,tense,addictive...everything I look for in a psychological thriller.. A fabulous read devoured in less than 24 hours. I now need to add Laura Elliot to my ever increasing list of 'read evrrything they write. authors'.
Highly recommended.

While I did enjoy this book, it is written like many other books. I did feel that I have read this scenario before, this year to be exact. I don't want to spoil anything, but if you are going to write about abuse and current and former wives it would also be interesting to read it from the husbands point of view. I get that it is a touchy subject, but it often leaves me wanting more of a back story from both sides.

i had the pleasure of reading this author’s previous book, guilty, which i loved. i was worried this one would not live up to the same high standard. it does!!!

the story is dark reading covering domestic violence, over bearing mother in laws, lies and deceit but you will not want to stop reading it until the end.

many thanks to netgalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I had never read this author and she didn’t disappoint. I look forward to more by this author.. This book was full a twists and turns! Thank you Netgalley!

Loved this book!!! I do admit, it started out a little slow. However, after sticking with it, I was intrigued. It goes back and forth between Elena and Amelia's life with Nicholas. Moral of the story: if you new S.O. has a dead spouse, find out why before you get in too deep.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC of The Wife Before Me.

The Wife Before Me is such an intense page-turner but it turns out to be a difficult read for me than expected because it tackles a serious issue of domestic violence. It has an intricate plot which was told in parts. The first part focused on Elena’s story, with some slight background and her miserable life with Nicholas. The next part goes back to Amelia’s story. How she was before and after she met her husband. At some point, the voices of the two women alternate and even added a third one. I struggled a bit at the start. Once it gets to Amelia’s story, though, the pacing sped up and I didn’t let go until the end.

The tension is palpable from the start, though the suspense and climax build-up is slow. And once there, everything just happened so fast. I like how it gives us a look of the events from the past and the present, but in turn, it also presents too many clues that I pretty much guessed most of the twists and turns right. Still, I must say they are some solid twists. Overall, The Wife Before Me is a very dark and unsettling novel. It is quite intense and emotional. The writing is okay and the idea may not be original but it is certainly a solid psychological thriller.

PSA -- Ladies, if you meet a man at your mother's funeral and you find out that he has a wife who died under suspicious circumstances and her body was never recovered -- don't hook up with him!

Unfortunately, Elena Langdon did not heed that warning and got together with Nicholas Madison anyway. His wife, Amelia, looms as the third person in their relationship from the very beginning. But Nicholas is so charming and just insinuates himself into Elena's life, finally getting her to agree to a commitment ceremony because he is not yet able to marry her as Madison has not been legally declared dead. Despite his ardent declarations, Elena is vulnerable to his manipulations and is convinced to move into the house Nicholas shared with his former wife. That's when the real problems surface. NO SPOILERS.

I'm sure that all women have thought at one time or another when we hear about a case of spousal abuse -- why doesn't she leave him? There are as many reasons (or excuses) as there are the women who endure the beatings, the treachery, the isolation, the controlling and the lies. Elena is distraught and can't escape Nicholas even after he confesses that he's lost all her inheritance. Now, she's really dependent on him. Much of the book describes how the worm turned and how Nicholas torments Elena, especially as she is convinced that he still loves the dead Amelia -- why else would he lock the door to the couple's previous bedroom and what other secrets is he keeping.

I've read other reviews and I must say that I enjoyed this domestic drama and psychological thriller. I didn't read the "romance" aspect as being too much as I realize this is the way that the abuser draws in his victim. I could see the downward spiral of Elena's life and sympathized with her even as I kept telling myself that I would never be in her position. Ah hubris, right? Anyway, there is suspense and the author creates a nice bit of tension. You know there is something of course -- that there will be a twist, and it's pretty easy to anticipate though you're not sure when it is coming.

The book is told in alternating viewpoints with some flips in time and this strange bit in italics that was a bit disconcerting until you identify the owner of the voice. That aspect of the narrative fell a little flat and I definitely had to suspend some disbelief about some of the things that happened as the story builds to a dramatic climax and a satisfying conclusion. You may or may not identify or relate to the characters, but it won't be hard to despise Nicholas as he's definitely a psychopath!

It was easy to read this book in one sitting as I found it hard to put down so stayed up way late finishing. I hope you enjoy it as well. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the e-book ARC to read and review.

Another really great read from Laura Elliott . Elena who is grieving the loss of her mother meets Nick , he is also grieving the loss of his wife . he is kind , considerate and understanding which is just what Elena needs . The soon move in together a huge mistake as Nick turns from the perfect boyfriend into a monster . Elena needs to find out what happened to Amelia who supposedly took her own life but the body was never discovered . Brilliantly written with two really likeable strong women at the forefront . 5 stars from me

This book will take you for a ride. After the first wife, Amelia, drowns we follow the next wife, Elena. It appears to be a picture perfect life, until it isn't. Things get intense very quickly and Elena needs to figure out Amelia's past.

The characters are well developed and you are rooted for both Amelia and Elena from the start. The author vividly describes the scenes and to set a chilling atmosphere. It was intrigued from the start to the finish and I really enjoyed reading this book.

I would recommend this to anyone in the mood for a phycological domestic thriller.

The Wife Before Me is another great psychological thriller from Laura Elliot that had me turning the pages well into the night.It starts with Amelia taking her own life after being in an abusive relationship with Nicholas Madison,two years on Elena meets Nicholas who is still grieving for his dead wife and falls head over heels in love with him and falls for his charms,but it soon dawns on Elena just what kind of a man Nicholas is and just what she is involved in as he starts to abuse her,She then finds a torn letter and her life becomes even more of a nightmare as she realises just what a monster Nicholas is,this is a great thriller with plenty of twists and turns along the way to keep you gripped until the final chapter.A great 5 star read.

Really enjoyed this book. Kept me guessing. Loved the writers writing style. Very easy quick read. Love the characters and the story line. Makes me think you never know someone till you live with them.

This was a great psychological thriller by an author I had not read books from before. I will definitely be seeking out more of her work!

This book has potential to be a GREAT read. Its twisty and a thriller. But i felt like it just took too long to get through (at least for me...and im a very fast reader). The 2nd half of the book i kind of struggled through.

This book took me on a very long and winding road. I liked it, then dreaded it, as it seemed it would never end. There are just too many ideas that are not fine tuned in this story. It could be a really great book with better focus and with editing it until it is much more polished. The idea in the heart of the story is not an original one and since it’s a story that has been told before, the book itself needed to have something extra special in order to make it stand out from others with almost the exact same story. This book is not something that stands apart from all the others that have told the same story as this one. It also was very long in getting to its predictable and boring ending.

I appreciate NetGalley giving me a copy of this book to read. My opinion is completely unbiased and was not influenced in any way.

THE WIFE BEFORE ME
By Laura Elliot
** Spoiler Alert**

Thank you to Net Galley, Laura Elliot and Bookouture Publishing for providing me with a digital copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I have done something quite different for my Net Galley review that I have never done before. I posted more of a synopsis on the Good Reads site, which I include a link for those interested. I thought that I left enough open ended questions for the reader to want to know the answers for themselves and read the book. Instead of explaining about how similar Elena and Amelia's lives were with Nicholas's physical brutal attacks on both of them, I wanted to point out the higher purposes for reading this book.

The first section which explores Elena, Nicholas's second wife and her whirlwind romance with Nicholas turning into hidden domestic violence. This is where the story starts to disappoint me. It starts off strong with a "Rebecca," like feel with Woodbine being a shrine to Amelia. Just the mere mention of Amelia is enough to send Nicholas off the deep end. He clearly tells Elena that his first wife is off limits by physically abusing Elena. As in real life Nicholas charms Elena into falling in love and it becomes too late after sharing two kid's and Nicholas leaving Elena without her money and she feels she has no escape. I think if the book succeeds it will be to educate the reader that it is a mistake to remain a silent victim of domestic violence. Elena did have friend's that were suspicious of the bruises and would have taken her in with her two children.

Section two called "The Past," is where the author's novel lost momentum for me. By delving into Amelia's life with Nicholas makes for too much repeating the same violent outbursts and the same physical abuse. I think the domestic violence is recreated from Elena to Amelia is where the novel begins to fail. The redeeming parts of this novel is to send a message to all the silent victims of domestic violence that it is a destructive endless cycle of attack led to apology by the abuser in this case Nicholas. The novel will succeed if readers learn to promptly alert authorities and tell everyone they know.

The section about Amelia serves too warn all those fragile sufferers of domestic abuse that it can unravel everyone who has been physically beaten and then being given an "i'm sorry," that to stay in the cycle of domestic violence can rob it's victim's of their sanity and even exacerbate feelings of guilt that are either latent or inflicted by the abuser.

The strongest part of the novel is too inform all who suffer from domestic violence to tell their friend's. Report it to authorities. Living with an abuser such as Nicholas always escalates. I applaud the author for illuminating this epidemic which can be certain to destroy lives. I think by repeating the same brutality that Elena suffered in part one, that part two is repeating the same message and that is where the momentum of the book lost me.
If the reader is educated and learns the endless cycle of abuse whether mentally or physically is a dangerous secret and teaches the reader it ends badly with even death than this book will be an outstanding resource on how fiction mirrors life.

Really?? What was up with that ending? Was this a romance, mystery, or science fiction piece? Talk about multiple personalities...

I have read way too many “thrillers” lately and I think I’m becoming a bit jaded. I am tired of Mr. Wonderful becoming an abusive psychopath. Sick of the woman that comes back to life (yawn). Over the teaming of both ex and current wife to take down the scum bag. A bit confusing, a few too many characters, and overall a bit too much going on...

This was my first book by this author and I don’t think it was a good pick for me but a lot of people did enjoy it so pls try it out for yourself! Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Bookouture for a copy in exchange for a review.

4 compelling Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This was a captivating, page turning, dark, and disturbing read....

This book starts off reading like a romance... Elena is grieving the death of her mother so when she meets Nicholas who is grieving the death of his wife she feels as though she has found a kindred spirit.... Nick is compassionate and understanding... he is exactly what Elena needs to get herself through the grieving period... they have a whirlwind romance and soon Elena has moved in with Nick... but what is up with the locked bedroom door???

Nick and this book are not as they first appear to be... Nick turns into a monster, and this book turns into a thriller filled with twists and turns and secrets... I thought this was a very impactful way to begin this book... we the Readers are lured in and fooled by Nick right along with Elena... however, if you are not a fan of romance it might put you off a little so hang in there the thrills are coming!

Told from the perspective of both Elena and Amelia(Nick’s deceased wife)... from alternating timelines of the past and present... not only do we get to see Elena struggle to survive in her abusive marriage and after... we also get to see that this is a pattern with Amelia’s story... Amelia was tremendously likable and relatable so her story really added a lot of weight to Elena’s struggles... as she was not quite as empathetic a character... not sure if this was done on purpose or not, but it was definitely impactful....

As the pieces to this puzzle were slowly revealed I became more and more connected to both of these women... as a warning to readers there is both verbal and physical abuse in this book and it is quite disturbing.... The book evoked quite a bit of emotion in me... I was frustrated, angry, sad, tents, and a little anxious.... I have to say the ending to this book although a bit predictable was absolutely perfect...

Absolutely recommend if you are in the mood for a dark domestic thriller with plenty of twists and turns....

*** many thanks to Bookouture for my copy of this book ***