I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. The first sentence pulled me in and I had to know what was going on with a husband that would say that about his wife. WE soon meet Matt ,who's married to Janice, and we quickly learn they aren't happily married. Janice makes a discovery that leads them both in directions quite unexpected. Fast forward 20 years later and Matt is married to Marie who just happens to fall off a cliff while they are on a trip for their 20th wedding anniversary. Question is, is Matt killing his wives? If he is, will he get away with it? Enter the police and the story has a subplot involving one of the detectives, Loren, who's a real creep. I have to say, I wasn't interested in the backstory of Loren and whether he killed his partner 30 years ago. Going back and forth between the 2 storylines felt disorganized, almost as if I was reading 2 separate books tossed together to make one story. I also became less invested in caring about Matt and Marie as the story went on. It very much felt like the author was trying to write a story similar to Gone Girl. In the end, I found it pretty predictable

Read this if you are in the mood for a seriously twisted, totally warped and outlandishly crazy book about the marriage from hell!

"...that's how marriages were -- like a private room for two, where no one else could see inside."

Matt and Marie have been married for over 20 years and they've definitely had their ups and downs. Now wealthy with two college-aged daughters living away from home, they find themselves face to face, alone with each other and returning to some old habits. Now they both love -- and hate -- each other but what can be done since divorce is so expensive and out of the question. They've been working on their marriage for years, seen therapists, tried to make it work. So when they decide to go on a hiking trip to Estes Park they find some inspiration in the mountains. But! Tragedy strikes when Marie falls from a cliff into the roaring river beneath. Things go from bad to worse for Matt when he becomes the prime suspect as the police begin to think the fall was no accident. It seems that Matt has a history: his first wife died under some very suspicious circumstances. Detectives Spengler and Loren (a mismatched pairing if there ever was one) are investigating the death and come to some very surprising conclusions. NO SPOILERS.

What a fun book that is chock-full of some of the most unlikeable and outlandish characters ever! I found it almost laugh-out-loud funny at times, especially with the aside observations. I liked the style of the narrative as it switched between the characters and the use of the second person point of view was masterfully handled. I really enjoyed this one more than I expected, thinking I'd had it was twisty psychological thrillers that seemed just like the other, and I had a great sigh of satisfaction at the ending. So, suspend your disbelief and go along for this rocky ride without thinking too much about tedious little details or tiny things like realism! And don't let it put you off from the idea of marriage LOL, it's doubtful you'll find a soulmate in each other as this couple did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the e-book ARC to read and review. It kept me thoroughly entertained!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Flatiron Books and JoAnn Chaney for the opportunity to read this book - 5 stars for a wickedly fun, twisty read!

The quote from War of the Roses in the beginning of the book sums it up perfectly: There are two dilemmas...that rattle the human soul. How do you hold on to someone who won't stay? And how do you get rid of someone who won't go?

Just like in the War of the Roses, this is a tale of love, marriage and all that goes along with it, especially when things go badly. Matt and his wife, Marie, are hiking in the Colorado mountains when Marie falls off the edge. Matt runs for the rangers and a search is started. But the questions for Matt are just beginning. When Detectives Loren and Spengler start investigating, they discovered that Matt's first wife also died in a suspicious manner. Is he just unlucky in love or is it more?

I couldn't put this book down and loved all the twists and turns. Highly recommended!

Well. Matt, Marie, and Janice all have something to say about marriage. Told in alternating time lines and voices, this is one twisty thriller that, while the plot might initially seem familiar, is totally distinctive. When Marie goes missing during a hike with Matt, all the cracks that they hid in their marriage come to the forefront. This includes the fact that Matt's first wife, Janice, also died, Hmm. There's an interesting and seemingly irrelevant subplot involving one of the detectives on the case but trust me, it will be clear at the end why you were reading about a 20 year old issue. These characters are people who will find fascinating, repugnant, and sympathetic all at once. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, This is a real page turner.

Tl;dr: The thriller that doesn't have the bells and whistles hype--but totally should as it's one of the best books of 2019. As Long As We Both Shall Live is a must read for fans of twisty and twisted psychological thrillers. And at the risk of sounding like every blurb/marketing copy that makes me roll my eyes: Think Gone Girl all grown up.

Yeah, I know, but hear me out!

As Long As We Both Shall Live is a bitter, biting, bracing read--a long hard pull at the rot that can fester not just within a marriage, but within oneself.

The summary goes like this--Matt's wife Marie has just died after falling off a cliff during a hike. Accidents happen, it's a tragedy, etc. Except Matt's first wife died in a fire. A fire only he escaped from.

The detectives assigned to the case--bitter, more than a little unhinged Ralph (Ralphie) Loren (who has his own past of secrets) and relative newbie Marion Spengler--aren't so sure that Marie's fall was an accident.

The thing is, the more they investigate, the more they realize there's more to Matt--and to devoted Marie--than meets the eye.

Who wants someone dead? Who is willing to do whatever it takes to get out of Matt and Marie's marriage?

And what did happen to Matt's first wife, Janice?

This summary? Only a surface scratch. There's a lot more going on here than meets the eye.

Now, I'm going to get into spoiler-light territory by talking about how I think As Long As We Both Shall Live is like Gone Girl--but all grown up.

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Ok. In Gone Girl, Amy and Nick weren't exactly characters you rooted for, right? But Amy did have an entire childhood of being not just the longed for and only child, she was dissected on the pages of her parents' books--you can see where she got her crazy from to some extent, you know?

And Nick? Well, Nick had the capacity to love--once Amy, sort of Andi, then Amy in again (in an obsessive, terrified, and murder-y way)--and he had his mom and the memory of her, and, of course, Go--the rock who loved and supported him no matter what. Plus Boney was there to (eventually) be on Nick's side.

As Long As We Both Shall Live tears all of that away. Matt has no family, lived off his first wife while he was getting a college degree and then is with Marie, who spends two plus decades raising their daughters, keeping the house, always running the whole day to day thing that's life.

And Marie? No family either. And happy about her life? Not by a long shot. Not with any of it. Especially Matt.

The kids? They aren't too broken up about Marie. But they're even less fond of Matt, not even staying with him when Marie is gone. They are and were long gone, checked out of it all as soon as they could.

So, no family for Matt and Marie. Nothing and no one but each other for over twenty years.

And those twenty plus years have bound them into one big nightmare of a couple. Who do they hate more? Each other or the world?

And Loren and Spengler? Dealing with their own stuff and the case. No time--or inclination, more importantly--to find a connection with Matt. Or Marie. They are out to solve the case. Or one of them, at least. Matt and Marie aren't going to haunt them.

So we have that twisted thing--that marriage--that Matt and Marie had. And it's an all consuming storm of hate and destruction and all they care about is leveling the other.

This is Gone Girl stripped down to its raw livewire nub. There's no one to root for anywhere, no character to lean on, no past to partially explain away the destruction that two people can and will create for each other. Every secret exposes only more desire for annihilation between Matt and Marie. (Janice is a force of chaos too--and she has a long, long reach, claws sunk deep into Matt and Marie)

In short, this is what Nick and Amy Dunne could be in twenty years--minus anyone or anything to make them softer. (Aside: there is a cool girl here (Riley) but let's just say she's not of lasting interest. She's there to play a role--for Marie, but for Matt too.)

One of my fave quotes:

"" I started noticing she was watching a lot of true crime on tv. And there was that book that came out a few years ago, when the wife fakes her death and frames her husband for murder? You know the one? She read that thing over and over. Kept it on her nightstand. I finally went a picked up my own copy and read it myself."

"So your wife watches crime tv and reads some books, and that's how we know she's faking her death?" Loren looked incredulous. "Dude, I've been around the block more than a few times, and I've never heard anything quite as stupid as this.""

And there we are.

As Long As We Both Shall Live pays homage to Gone Girl even as it rips all the niceties of that book away. There's nothing but the cold, brutal, beating hard of love ripped open, ground down, and poured into a one-upshipman game of who can hurt who more to win.

Last line:

"Are we having fun yet?"

Oh yeah, we are.

It’s official, this book is the very first one that I’m adding to my best of 2019 shelf! Yes, I realize that we’re just days into a new year, however this was such an original, engaging read I’m confident about adding it so early!

While I really loved the story itself, (I’m a sucker for a domestic suspense) what really made this one stand out for me was the authors style. There was something darkly humorous about the writing, black comedy at it’s finest that just reeled me in and never let go. Diving into Matt and Marie’s marriage was wickedly fun, they’re a unique couple to say the least and then there’s a heavy police procedural vibe as you also hear from two detectives working the case, Loren and Spengler. It was a nice balance and the whole book flowed really smoothly and just when you get settled in and think you know where things are going, you get knocked on the ass with some twists. I never would’ve worked out the end on my own which I love, highly recommended if you want something that reads fresh.

As Long As We Both Shall Live in three words: Wicked, Addictive and Unpredictable.

This novel is a very good read. The characters are flushed out very well and there is no "fluff" or unnecessary details added to the story. It's set at a good pace and keeps you wanting to read more.

I chose to read this e-book after receiving a free copy. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.

This is a difficult review to write because I’m conflicted. The plot and the multiple twists were great but personally, I couldn’t stay interested in the book because of so much extra, unnecessary information. Normally, I don’t mind when an author changes between times but it was a bit too much here.

Matt pushes his wife Marie off a cliff and when detectives find out that his first wife died under suspicious circumstances, they realize that they need to look closer at Matt. The more they (and the reader) find out, the crazier things get.

There’s a subplot with Detective Loren that I could have done without. Whether he was guilty or innocent didn’t matter to me…it was difficult to read about him because he was such a nasty character. He was demeaning and rude to men and even more to women.

I guess I was disappointed because As Long as We Both Shall Live was an okay read but it could have been a fantastic read.

This book started off strong and I expected to love this tangled web of marriage gone wrong and happily ever after turned into I hope you die before me. As it went on and veered away from the dysfunctional marriage and headed more into the lives of the cops working the investigation and the daily ins and outs of police work the less interested I became. When I finally made it to the reveal I was a bit let down at the unbelievability of it all.

This book was surprising and twisted, the perfect combination! A man with not one, but two dead wives? Sounds creepy, and it is. But just when I started thinking that I knew what was going on, out came the plot twists. This book hooked me right away and I was thoroughly entertained. I could see a series being made from this book. I definitely recommend this book for thriller fans, especially if you like Gone Girl style books of unreliable narrators.

When I read the blurb for this one, I expected a gripping psychological/domestic thriller. In fact, that's what I was hoping for, and the opening lines and first handful of chapters set the stage for exactly that. The book does deliver in the domestic thriller genre in part. There are some terrific twists in Matt and Marie's story, but it felt like this one couldn't decide what it wanted to be. From the time our detectives are introduced, it becomes more procedural than thriller, and there's nothing wrong with that except a large chunk of the book is weighed down by Loren's backstory. His history is interesting enough, but it felt out of place, almost like two separate books thrown in a bowl and mixed together. With the bouncing back and forth, what had the potential to be the gripping thriller I was hoping for lost its edge. Tightened up and trimmed down, As Long as We Both Shall Live has everything needed for a great thriller. As it stands, it was just an okay read for me.

At first I thought this book was cut and dried. We knew what had happened and now the only thing left to learn was why and how and I was a bit disappointed! HOW WRONG COULD I HAVE BEEN! This was exactly the kind of psychological suspense that I love and I was delighted that my first assessment was wrong!! With one twist after another the reader is absolutely riveted to the page! Matt and Marie were both characters you love to hate and they were perfect! Loren, the older detective was rather crude and offensive (too crude for this reader in several instances), but he was just just starting to soften up at the end and I wouldn’t mind seeing him and Spengler pair up again in a future book. Kudos to Chaney for a roller coaster of a ride!

Not my favorite book this year, but not horrible :)

Easy to figure out the twists and turns which is a bit disappointing. There is a lot of backstory on some characters that doesn't seem relevant and makes the story seem drawn out while rushing other parts.

Matt and his wife Marie may have some issues, but they've been together for over 20 years. When they go for a hike, and Marie goes over the cliff, Matt is the first suspect in her death. In questioning if Marie's death was an accident or something more sinister, the detectives discover Matt's first wife was murdered. Either Matt's a terribly unlucky guy, or he's hiding something.

A twisty psychological thriller full of secrets. It seems everyone has something to hide. The main story of Matt and Marie is very engaging. In addition to their story, there is a subplot with an investigation into one of the police officers. This part of the book was not as interesting, and probably could have been left out.

The mystery seemed fairly straightforward, but then it got more and more twisted. This is not an obvious story, and I love that it kept me guessing. A page-turner for sure. Dark, intriguing, and clever. A good read for fans of domestic thrillers.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book has a very enticing premise- man's wife falls off a cliff while they're hiking, and while it seems like it just might be a tragic accident, this man's first wife died under suspicious circumstances years before. It's definitely a tricky little story that keeps readers on their toes.

However- if you've been riding the wave of domestic suspense stories and mysteries of this type, you're going to catch the tricks. There's a modern classic in this area that this book pays heavy homage to (I mean, it's referenced-though not by name- IN THIS BOOK). There are some parts of this story that are uniquely and cleverly done, but when you're waiting for them, the surprises are a bit dulled.

4.5 stars

"So here's the thing: if you want to kill your wife, don't. Don't kill her, don't touch her. Ditch the bitch if you have to, get on with your life."

What a fantastic, fun, twisted, entertaining read!

One man. Two dead wives. How can that be? Matt and his wife, Marie, had gone away for a romantic weekend. They have been married for twenty-four years and have two daughters in college. Time away is precious and they have decided to go hiking. Some exercise, some fresh air, time alone, what could be better? But then Marie disappears off the side of a cliff!

As Matt summons help, a search party is gathered. Matt joins in the search for his wife, but as the search goes on, the local authorities begin to investigate the couple's lives, their relationship, and their marriage. They are shocked to learn that Matt was married before and his first wife died under questionable circumstances and that Matt was a suspect for some time. Hmm....now a second wife is missing and presumed dead.

One of the officers investigating this case is also being investigated as well. Like other reviewers, I don't think his back story was necessary. I didn't really mind it but at the same time, I also don't think it added anything to the story. It seems that more than one person in this book has secrets and something to hide.

So, I did a little happy dance about 56% though and thought "By George, I think I've got it!" and I was about 75% right! Yes, I am tooting my own horn as this is a twisty fun read full of secrets, deception, and lies. Nothing too overly shocking as it doesn't need to be. I was captivated by this wickedly fun married couple who could give the couple in the war of the roses a run for their money. There really is a thin line between love and hate!

"It was so easy, she thought, to keep your hate to yourself. To let it simmer like acid in your stomach. You started to live on it after a while. It fed you, kept you going, until you started to get hungry for it, and it became an active craving. A diet of anger and hate could slim anyone's thighs."

This book is told in alternating time lines and each chapter is headed with clever song titles/sayings and noting the year the action takes place. Chaney keeps readers on their toes, giving a little bit more info as the story progresses. She had me wanting more and more. With each little tidbit, she takes the reader closer to the truth. She lets the reader believe one thing and then quickly turns the table and has the reader believing something else. Detective Spengler points out in the book: There is HIS story, there is HER story and then there is the TRUTH! That about sums it up right there. Readers will yearn for the truth in this book because this married couple has secrets. Secrets can tear a marriage apart, but sometime secrets are the glue that hold it together.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was sucked in and found this to be a clever and incredibly fun page turner. Not the-edge-of-your-seat-with-nonstop-action page turner but an what-the-hell-is-this-person-going-to-do-next type of page turner. I really enjoy deceptively wicked characters. The ones who have you fooled - up until that second when they no longer have you fooled. I like to do a silent little chuckle and recall this quote "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!" by Sir Walter Scott.

I said it before and I will say it again: What a fantastic, fun, twisted, entertaining read! There is mystery, suspense, witty passages, doubt, lies, betrayals, scheming, deception- all of which make for a captivating book which did not disappoint this reader.

Thank you to Flat Iron books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Talk about twisty, creepy goodness!

When Matt's wife Marie falls from a cliff to her death on the couple's weekend getaway a horrific accident quickly becomes so much more. Immediately following the incident, police officers piece together that this is actually Matt's second wife to die under less than kosher circumstances! With the suspicion turned on Matt, he is thrust into the spotlight and threads begin to unravel. Is Matt really unlucky or is there more here than what meets the eye?

Chaney mastered the art of pacing and dropping the "twist hammer" in her second novel. I was genuinely shocked as the twists revealed themselves and finishing this book had me desperately wanting to run back and grab her first novel!

I received an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

If you’re a fan of watching Dateline episodes, then you’re going to want to stick around for this one.

Thank you Flatiron Books for allowing me to read this on netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Matt’s got a interesting history. He’s been married twice, but he’s also been caught saying “I think my wife’s dead” twice. This book is told in different timelines as you learn about his two marriages, how they’ve ended in tragedy, and whether or not Matt’s guilty.

I really thought I was reading a script for a Dateline episode, which for me is wonderful! I have my parents to thank for getting me into watching Dateline on NBC. You may think you have this book all figured out in the beginning, but you don’t! In fact, I really thought I had it figured out 50% of the way through! I was wrong. That’s the sign of a really great book. My least favorite part about the book was the backstory of the detective. I felt like that could’ve been a separate book that I could’ve done without. The ending was jaw-dropping so I was all for it.

4/5 Stars

This was my first read by Author JoAnn Chaney and I enjoyed it. Matt seems to subscribe to the theory that if you tire of a wife, you should murder them instead of divorcing them. He feels that if you have a plan, you will get away with it. His first wife, Janice, dies under suspicious circumstances and then twenty plus years later, his wife Marie goes over a cliff. Sadly, this well publicized scenario has played out numerous times in real life. Some of the twists and turns were predictable but overall this is a very good read.

Matt’s wife Marie has fallen from a cliff while they were hiking high above a raging river. As the detectives delve into the case, they find that Matt’s first wife also died in an unusual manner. A body is found. Secrets are discovered. What is going on? To avoid spoilers, I will say no more about the plot. Suffice it to say that I enjoyed this read.

If Gone Girl resonated with you, then this book will also. I loved the authors sense of humor (albeit dark) in her observations of marriage.