#TheWifeBeforeMe#NetGally#
For the most part a good read. The book has many facets, and many characters. The story opens with the first wife's automobile plunging into the sea. Her body is never recovered. Guessable, she isn't dead. It started like a noir Gothic. Woodbine, the lonely mansion, etc. where the husband takes both brides. However, the plot turns to spousel abuse. I found the second wife endured the abuse far too long. During this middle of the story, I found I could easily put the book aside.
The tense changes with different narrators became distracting.
On the whole the book is very well written, the characters mostly believable, and the pacing satisfactory, though not tight.
I would read another book by this author.
Thank you, both NetGally and the publisher for allowing me the privilege of reading this arc copy.

Although slow to get going and a bit predictable in the end, I am glad I carried on with it as I ultimately enjoyed this story.

Amelia Madison goes on a drive and never returns. On a dangerous incline, her car slips off of a cliff and plunges into the sea. It is now two years later, and Elena Langdon meets Amelia's husband Nicholas. It is Elena's mother's funeral and Nicholas is there as he worked with her mother. They are both grieving and yet they make a connection.

Over time, the two develop a bond, and eventually begin to live together. She is most assuredly in love with him and he claims to love her as well. However, he begins to exhibit increasingly cruel and dangerous sides to his personality, placing her very life in danger more than once. At some point, Elena begins to wonder what really happened to Amelia. Was Nicholas as cruel to Amelia as he is to Elena? Was Amelia's death an accident?

When Elena discovers a torn letter it sends incredible chills through her bones. Everything changes and she begins looking for answers. Even so, it is very difficult for her to prove just how dangerous Nicholas truly is. However, what she discovers is shocking beyond belief, plunging her into even more terror than she could have ever imagined.

I sometimes don't know who experienced more shock, Elena, Amelia or myself, the reader. I then found myself dealing with powerful emotions towards or against certain characters in this book, namely Nicholas, his mother, and even his father. This was a truly emotional read and I give kudos to the author for evoking such powerful responses in me while reading this book.

When I picked The Wife Before Me for review, I know since it was in my genre of choice, that it would most likely be a good read. It was far more than that - it was an utterly exceptional read. For starters, there were twists and turns that had me gasping for air and I just could not turn the page fast enough. I found myself devouring this book in just two sittings, pausing only enough for a scant few hours of sleep before continuing on, yes, in just two brief sittings. From the first page to the very last page, I was completely riveted. This is my first book by Laura Elliot and I know for a solid fact that she will be a definite auto-buy for me. Her writing is concise, her characters memorable and the plot lines believable.

Thank you to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book started off really good.
I flew through the first few pages, but then the characters lost me. And if I don't care about the characters, its nearly impossible for me to enjoy the book.

There were a few things that thew me right away,
Elena was SO in love with Nicholas, but was bored with the repetitiveness of looking at pictures of him in his younger years, and gave his mother attitude because of this? (regardless of the mothers attitude later on in the book, at this point she was just her boyfriends mom, yet Elena was a little rude to her... the very first time she met her... at HER home, where SHE was a guest.... for no reason.)

Then there was this comment -

"The weight she has lost since Isabelles death adds to the elegance"

... I thought that was a weird thing to say.

But aside from all that, I just did not like the characters, any of them and because of this I found myself bored with the story. The story itself was the same one we have all read a hundred times, and the "twist" was the one we all saw coming.
I wish I could give this book a better score, but I just did not like it.

Wowee. I had forgotten just how good Laura Elliot is at writing a book which will slowly sucker you in, compel you to keep reading, twist your emotions and then leave you breathless. And she's done it again with The Wife Before Me a book which is terrifyingly claustrophobic, overwhelmingly emotional and atmospheric, controlling and tense from the very start.

The book opens in a really shocking way, the first chapter giving you a sense of what is to follow but by no means revealing the layer upon layer of complexity that will soon be presented to the reader. We meet Amelia, a woman so clearly at the end of her tether, one who we barely have time to get to know before she is gone. Gone, but not forgotten, much to the dismay of Elena Langdon. When she meets the man of her dreams, Nicholas, at her mother's funeral, he seems so perfect. All apart from the one small thing. The ghost of his wife Amelia still haunts him and he is as consumed in his grief for her as much as Elena is for her mother. When they begin a new relationship Elena wants to lay those ghosts to rest, but some spirits just won't rest easily.

Now this book is a perfect example of Laura Elliot's skill in building suspense. As an outsider, looking in, you can see the little cracks in the relationship between , even before it really gets going, but it is only the merest hint, nothing too obviously amiss, but just something which will set the hackles rising. Perhaps as an outsider you can spot those little symptoms of control, little actions which suggest the partnership is not as equal as some may believe, but they are subtle at first, shielding the reader from the true horrors of what is to come. Because this book does take a chilling turn, one not entirely unexpected, but still, the lengths to which the author takes us can be uncomfortable, but not gratuitous, and yet feel so very, very real.

Beset with some very clever elements of plotting, the author has done a bang up job of repulsing, and shocking the reader and yet leaving them compelled to read onward. I was certainly hooked by the story and unable to turn away, even though I found myself frustrated by Elena's lack of action. She has created characters who will charm, repulse, scare and frustrate you in equal measure. Nicholas's mother is just one example of a true matriarchal figure who I would gladly have throttled, she felt so very real. The author has also managed to create so many elements of uncertainty and to create situations where the reader may not be present when some real acts of violence and betrayal occur, but you are left with enough certainty of their happening that you feel the same level of anger just the same.

Now this is a very emotional read, focused on both the good and bad side of family. It is a story of courage and strength, of friendship and love and over heartbreak and betrayal. There are some very tense moments in the book, some shocking scenes of revelation, and that overwhelmingly atmospheric feeling that you get when reading. It's a strange constricted, almost choking sensation, which echoes the action of the story. And as the true nature of the betrayal and the significance of what has occurred becomes clearer to the reader, so the outside world begins to change, becoming an altogether darker place. It really is quite a thing to read.

If you are looking for a carefully crafted, highly emotion and occasionally dark domestic thriller then you should give this book a try. Very much recommended by me.

This novel grabbed my attention instantly and maintained its momentum. I feel as though I've been dragged through a hedge backwards after reading this book. Tension vibrates strongly throughout. It's a blistering, shocking story of domestic abuse at its highest level. A lovely sympathetic smile from a handsome stranger at a funeral and Elena is transported into a sea of bliss as her romance ignites with the personable Nicholas but all too soon into the dark, terrifying jaws of Hell. They both have a history of losing loved ones recently which should have drawn them together. It forced them apart. Nicholas's wife, Amelia drowned in a suspected suicide. Elena, as his second wife is unnerved and insecure - unsure of how to compete with his sainted dead wife whom he refuses to discuss. The characterisation is so real that I felt myself trying to rein Elena in on several occasions. She was apt to provoke, challenge and confront him but she didn't deserve the punishment meted out. Nonetheless, it is a tempestuous marriage and despite giving him two children the dynamics did not change. The ending is genius, but it nearly turned my hair white. A fantastic read. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

I was really looking forward to this one but it did take me a little while to get into it. Fortunately, the pace did pick up and I ended up really liking it. The ending was unique from other books I have read lately. There were parts of the story that were a little bit confusing as far as whose perspective I was reading but overall I enjoyed this one. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy!

First of all, thank you to Netgalley for a free advanced copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

"When the fear of death has been conquered, we become unconquerable."

This is the first book I've read by Laura Elliot, and wow, I had no idea what kind of ride I was in for. The book opens with a tragic scene of Amelia Madison driving off a steep incline into the ocean, despite being unable to swim. She has had nightmares her entire life about drowning. She knew that this was the end of her marriage.

Then we jump forward a few years to the funeral of Isabelle Langdon, Elena's mother. Elena meets a mysterious character who dazzles her with his good looks and his charm. Nicholas Madison is the grieving widow of Amelia Madison, the front page headline of many newspapers after her tragic car fall to the death off of Mason's Pier. Elena knows the story, but still pursues a relationship Nicholas despite his obvious torment over the death of his wife.

We are then pulled into a tumultuous story of the life that Elena is thrust into with Nicholas as her husband. Nothing is ever as it seems, especially when you marry someone who has a history of beating his previous wife. Elena endures more than any character I have ever met in a book, and she does it all while she believes the ghost of Amelia is haunting her.

Beaten constantly and losing sight of who she once was, she eventually cracks and stabs her husband with a rusty ice pick. This launches her into the main bulk of the drama of the book, where we learn more about Amelia's past with Nicholas and how it eventually caused her to spiral out of control.

With twists, turns, and an overall deep plot, this book kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. The ending brought drama and closure.

The main reason that I did not give this book four stars was because I oftentimes felt like the author wrote it with a thesaurus in front of her - using words that were unnecessarily large and even confusing at times. It took away from the story instead of adding to it, and made the book more difficult to read than I would have liked.

I really struggled to get into this book during the first few chapters almost giving up on it, glad I kept going with it, after the slow start is becomes a quite good thriller, although a little predictable.

I really liked this book! It was full of tense moments and the story seemed to flow very naturally! The characters were believable and I enjoyed reading it a lot.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookotoure for a digital ARC of this book.

When I started this book, I liked it well enough. I thought there were a few rough passages (though that may be attributable to formatting) where transitions weren't terribly smooth, but overall I liked it. It was a chilling recounting of how a relationship goes bad by degrees and how women can find themselves trapped. This book does the Rebecca and Bluebeard thing but does it better than many others I've read in the genre. I was hooked.

Somewhere towards the middle, I was a little worried--not that the book wasn't consistently good. It was. But because there are so many books in this genre out there now, I realized that people who read the domestic thriller or thriller noir might find this too much like others that have come before. I thought a couple of times that I wish I had read this a couple years ago because I would have probably found it more chilling (as it was, I did figure out the twist rather early--as always, though, that's not a deal breaker for me: as long as the narrative is enjoyable, I don't care how early I figure out the twist).

Then, towards the end, I was delighted to see the genre . . . change a bit. Something that seemed to be a traditionally minor element in these novels (and that is eventually dropped or explained away by the end) took off. And I was thrilled. Why? Because this novel does turn out to be different than what I expected from it. While the end might get a little heavy-handed, I completely enjoyed it and couldn't put this down.

So I'm happy to recommend this novel and I'll definitely read this writer again. I will give two suggestions, though, that maybe a publisher might consider. #1: The title. The main title is fine. However, the publisher (or someone) follows the title with "A twisty, gripping psychological thriller." I don't know about others, but . . . that's a major turn off. When I see that after any title, I usually choose not to purchase because it's something often included in self-published books or books from unestablished authors who are just getting their feet wet. This book is good. It really is. That sub-title can be a turn-off. And #2: I might consider re-evaluating how the genre is listed. This is more than another psychological thriller; instead, it's really of the gothic tradition of domestic noir. And it's a good one.

I found the book a litlle slow to get going for my liking. Once it got moving I really enjoyed it. Well written with interesting characters and enough intrigue to keep you going till the nail biting end.

This is a really good fast paced read. I really enjoyed this book. There is plenty of suspense and nail biting action. There is a lot to the plot and it all comes together brilliantly. This is a well written book. There have been similar books to this but I feel that Laura Elliot puts her own unique spin in this story about domestic violence.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I started this book and was a little disheartened, so much so I gave up reading it. Only for a day! I’m so glad I gave it another chance, wow! I do not see the last quarter of the book coming. I enjoyed every page. Thank you so much to Netgakkey for letting me review this title. I’m now off to buy the rest of the books written by Laura Elliot

The Wife Before Me is the second book I have read by Laura Elliot and it doesn’t disappoint.

When Elena meets Nicholas, he is mourning the death of his wife Amelia. Elena is also at a low point, she has just buried her mum and Nicholas is helping her recover. They become friends and as their relationship gradually turns to romance, Elena feels she might just have found the one.

As their relationship continues to develop, Elena finds that Nicholas is not what he seems - he has a dark side and any mention of Amelia seems to set him off. As Elena’s life spirals out of control, she makes a discovery about Amelia that brings things with Nicholas to a head.

An excellent book with the hard hitting storyline of domestic abuse. The story is told in part by both Elena and Amelia in which both of their lives appear to be carbon copies of the other. A suspenseful thriller with twists and turns along the way which is well worth a read.

What a great read, this book captivated me from the first chapter and takes you on a plot twist filled ride where things are not quite what they seem. A haunting look into 2 marriages and the thread of domestic violence that binds them. Just when you think you have it figured out, Laura throws in a plot twist. This was my first time reading Laura Elliot and it will not be my last. Thanks to #netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. #thewifebeforeme #lauraelliot #bookouture #goodreads #tea_sipping_bookworm #nickikendall

Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for giving me an opportunity to read this domestic thriller prior to its public release. Elena has just lost her mother, and is feeling at loose ends, when Nicholas appears to give her comfort. He’s suave, successful and knows how to make the ladies swoon. Nicholas also suffered a devastating loss when his first wife’s car slipped off a pier and her body was never found. Told from the perspective of both wives and a “friend” the chapters crescendo until they are entwined. Domestic violence plays a leading character throughout the story.

Early on I figured out a crucial truth, but had no idea how that clue would play out in the end. Even after rereading the ending, I was still a little confused by it, but they may be a personal problem. The book itself read well, kept me engaged and eager to find out what would happen next. Elliot writes in the thriller genre well. I think the topic has been overdone and that’s why I gave it four stars.

Wonderful story, full of suspense! I really loved some characters, and loathed others. Enjoyed it so much, I was sad to finish so quickly. Great author, books are always good, but this was great!

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel.
One evening, Amelia Madison drives her car into the water, never to be heard from again. Two years later, her husband, Nicholas Madison, meets Elena, a woman dealing with the death of her mother, and the two bond over shared grief. Elena quickly realizes that Nicholas is not who he seems. He has a violent temper, and is able to manipulate anyone. Elena is now stuck in a violent, unhappy marriage with no way out until the day she finds a hidden file, a file which not only may save her, but may also answer the question- “what really happened to Amelia?”
“The Wife Before Me” did not start off great. I found it to be a little slow-moving and choppy, and neither Nicholas nor Elena was a likable character at the beginning. It played out more like a lame TV romance movie for a few chapters, and I almost DNF’ed it to be honest.
I am, however, grateful that I continued. Once Amelia is introduced (the story is told from her perspective as well as Elena’s), the novel quickly picked up speed. I instantly liked Amelia, and her story was entertaining and captivating. Soon, we hear from Leanne as well and I was quick to forget the slow beginning.
Nicholas, of course, is an abomination and I disliked his character from the start (although most readers will likely agree with me there) but it did take me awhile to grow to like Elena. Told from alternating viewpoints (and both “before” and “after” when Amelia narrated), the storyline quickly picked up pace, and once it did, I found it difficult to put down.
The ending was very satisfying and it brought the novel to a tightly-wrapped conclusion.
I am new to Laura Elliot’s novels, but she is not a new writer. Elliot is the writer of six novels, most of which are identified as psychological thrillers, as well as some children’s books under another name. I am curious to read Elliot’s other works, for comparison’s sake. It is hard to write a novel in this genre that is creative and unique, that doesn’t resemble any other novels out there, but it seems that Elliot is able to do that in “The Wife Before Me”. A novel that has a major impact, if you stick with it!

The Wife Before Me by Laura Elliot is billed as a breath taking page turner. Whilst it does live up to this at the end, I did find some parts of the book slow going in places.

Although the majority of this book was good, there were parts I didn’t like. Firstly too many characters popping up every now and then and some parts of the book I just found confusing.

The book had a good ending but I felt it was slightly predictable.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.