While Marianne bugged me a little bit, I did like this one more than I thought I would.

It’s quite suspenseful, even if I didn’t love the characters.

Expect a quick beach read that will keep your interest, even as you loathe everyone in it.

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

A great thriller from Sue Watson. I enjoyed her first dalliance in the thriller field. It was highly enjoyable.

A good psychological thriller, on the surface Marianne has a perfect life, but as we go further in the truth starts to reveal itself. I enjoyed the book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this arc.
Marianne leads the perfect life, or does she?? Married to a successful surgeon, she has twin boys and a teenage stepdaughter. Just moved to a beautiful big house, it just has to be perfect, doesn't it??
As a thriller I found this book slow and hard going at times! I found myself skipping several pages which I have to admit is a first for me!! A slight twist at the end which I saw coming!!

Holy holy will this book keep you in the edge of your seat! Quite the thriller of a husband and wife who seem to have the most picturesque life with 3 loving children and all the riches of life. Simon, the brilliant surgeon, flying husband and father and a man who seems to have it all together. Marianne, the wonderful spring mother who would do whatever she could for her kids. Is it the perfect marriage or is it all just a hoax? Amazing job by Sue Watson!!

Marianne and Simon seem to have the perfect life - three kids, a beautiful house, and a fairytale marriage. While this may be the perception from the outside, the truth is their marriage is full of lies, abuse and deceit. Marianne's jealous tendencies cause her to accuse her husband of infidelity and Simon's controlling behavior leaves the whole family on edge. As the book progresses, it's hard to tell what is Marianne's paranoia and what is Simon's deceit.

This book started rather slow for me as it set up the possibility of Simon's affairs and Marianne's mental health issues. But at the halfway point it really got interesting and by the end I couldn't stop reading because I had to know what would happen. I ended up loving the ending of this book.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

Marianne seems to have to all- beautiful home, lovely children, handsome successful husband but she constantly struggles for perfection & to stop herself becoming obsessed with the idea her husband is unfaithful. She has had mental health issues & the family have had to move on a couple of occasions because of her outbursts at neighbours accusing them of stealing her husband. The handsome successful husband is not all he seems. He constantly berates her for not having everything perfect. Her step daughter seems to be the only one who supports her. Her twin boys are too young to be more than lively little boys- alternately being scolded or encouraged by their father.

I've really tried to get through this book, but at about 40% I really cannot bear to be inside that woman's head a moment longer! I did feel some sympathy for her but I honestly couldn't face any more of it!

I know many people really liked it but all I can manage is two stars.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me try to read this book!

Brilliant story that keeps you gripped, totally different to what I am used to from this author. Gritty and fast paced

Excellent! One of this year's best reads. Just a shame I couldn't give more than 5 stars! Kept me gripped from start to finish.

At no fault to anyone other than myself, this started out slow for me. I may just needed to pick this up at a different time; however it was too cliche. We have Marianne who is married to the perfect guy in the perfect scenario with the perfect children, etc. etc. I know. You've read this before too. But it doesn't stay like the cliche story I was expecting. Simon is a jerk but Marianne has some major issues too. I gave her the benefit of the doubt knowing that Simon's behaviors likely added to her insanity but I didn't like Marianne either as she was painted to be insane and she herself knew so.
I had an issue with how slow the book was. 50% in and the background information about Simon and Marianne's marriage was getting to be annoying for me. I understand that much of the information was an important aspect of understanding the couple and each of their history but I lost interest. Had I not read reviews or was okay with giving up on a book without finishing it, I may have put it down but I stuck it out and exactly at 54% for me, I was hooked.
Marianne, Simon,  and Caroline were all extremely unlikable for me. WhIle I usually don't like books with characters that don't have any redeeming qualities at, this wasn't necessarily the case since it was a more important to the plot and conflicts as a whole to dislike them. Even with the unlikable characters, I eventually started to feel sorry for then, especially Marianne and Caroline, and my perceptions of them and even Simon changed many many times. It's hard to give more about the dynamics without giving it away. This was a great read and you most definitely won't see the ending coming!

What a fantastic read! Kept me hooked and wanting more! Not an ending I guessed either 👍🏻 Definite be reading more by Sue

From the outside looking in Marianne has a wonderful life; a beautiful home , three beautiful chilldren and a handsome husband who’s a cardiac surgeon. However , looking from the inside out, life isn’t so bucolic. Simon is not the endearing , devoted husband, as recorded on Marianne’s social media, he’s cruel and demeaning, continually referring to Marianne as crazy. Unfortunately Marianne discovers that Simon is having an affair and this time she has proof despite her husband continously pushing her to the edge of sanity. This was a great read and the characters are so well rounded and truly believable. I couldn’t help but get totally engrossed in the story which kept me hooked from start to finish. I never realised before that despising a character makes no difference to your enjoyment in fact it just enhances the read.

Thank you for the ARC of this book. I love psychological thrillers however I found this one to be too slow to pick up momentum. The first half of the book was too long, the fact that the husband was a controlling SOB was clear rather quickly. I also did not feel much empathy for the wife, who I wanted to shake for enabling her husband for so long. I found myself rushing through the book so I could just get to the ending. Sorry!

Oh WOW !!! I loved this book and was gripped from the very beginning . And the twist at the end completely blew me away. Sue Watson is a new author to me and I will certainly be looking out for more books by her. Highly recommended and worth more than five stars

Thank you to Bookouture and Net Galley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
This book is a family drama about Marianne, who was the tormented wife of an outwardly suave desirable surgeon. his daughter and their joint twin boys.
Although I was hooked in straightaway, the story was a slow burner. There was a long, and perhaps painfully slow build up as Marianne decided it wasn't her that was the problem! About three quarters of the way through the excitement shone through as Marianne carried out her plan to show her husband up big time! Some parts of this were quite amusing, and made me chuckle.
The ending had a few unexpected twists, but the overall outcome wasn't a huge suprise to me.

I really enjoyed this book. Easy to read, could not put it down, I just wanted to find out what was coming next. With a nice twist at the end, it makes a perfect book for those who like thrillers.

The book was quite refreshing.
Marianne and Simon has married
Marianne had look after the girl and the twin boys .
Simon has been accused of having an affair after Marianne spelt it out .
I had an ARC from Bookouture

This book was about about a married couple who’s life seemed to be perfect on the outside. Marianne the wife, however, couldn’t trust her husband or herself. She was on anxiety medication so she wasn’t sure what was true and what wasn’t. I read books With a similar situation a few times before so it wasn’t something new. There wasn’t as much dialogue in this book as I thought, just mostly what Marianne was thinking and going through. I did enjoy the book and I definitely didn’t see the ending coming.

Today I am reviewing one thriller debut from my favorite chicklit author Sue Watson. I absolutely adore her chicklit novels full of comfort food and happy endings. p.s. I always gain some weight while reading her novels with delicious cakes and other desserts. This is her first try in the thriller world, so I decided to give it a try.

This is a story about Marianne, a woman who has created the home from her dreams. Perfect house, perfect husband, perfect kids. From outside, everything looks perfect. But when you scratch under the surface, the truth is very different. It seems that her husband Simon, a respected cardio surgeon, is far from perfect. Nothing is good enough for him. Not even his own kids. Marianne’s choice never matters, his word has to be the last. So, year after year, Marianne has learned to walk on eggshells when he is around.

Then, one day it turns out that Simon has a mistress, a woman who works with him. And suddenly, Marianne finds her family threatened. But she has no proof, just the way the name “Caroline” sounds when he talks about her . She was wrong before. She once accused him for an affair when there was no affair at all. Could she be wrong again?

When I started to read this book, there were several ups and downs for me . A couple of times I started to read and a couple of times I left the book. I couldn’t stand the main character. I wanted to shake her and ask her “What are you doing?”. I’ve found her very weak as a main character. And then, BAM! The final 50% I finished in less than a day! What a twist! My jaw dropped to the floor! As the story continues, what seems like a boring start at the beginning, turns into an amazing plot twist that will leave you with your mouth open. I never expected that kind of ending the story. It really surprised me in a good way! After this, I believe that Mrs. Sue Watson has an excellent career in writing psychological thrillers. So, give this book a chance, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. I know I was.

You've all heard the term 'gas lighting' and this book is a perfect portrayal of this. A perfect picture of domestic and psychological abuse. Its an amazing book that kept me hooked from start to finish. The main character Marianne, on the outside appears to have a perfect life. Married to Simon, a fine up and coming heart surgeon. Handsome and charismatic. They live in a dream home, surrounded by beautiful things and their 3 perfect children. However, scratch under the surface and the truth is very ugly. Marianne fights on a daily basis to keep her family together. To keep it perfect. Plagued by mental health problems Marianne feels she is the cause of anything that goes wrong for her family. She feels honoured that Simon is her husband and is constantly striving to show her appreciation to him. To show him how much she appreciates the life he has bestowed upon her. She's the epitome of a woman terrified to rock the boat. Terrified to upset her husband for fear of reprisals. And, while Simon appears to be the perfect husband he is a very dark character, wielding his power in the house with an iron fist and using Marianne's fears and paranoia to control her. Marianne is content to live this life if it means she keeps her children and maintains the facade of a perfect family. That is until Caroline comes into their lives and Marianne must be brave and face all her demons to ensure that Caroline doesn't take her place. Simon and Caroline have plans for a future together and that means getting Marianne out of the way first.

What an amazing book this is. One tip though................don't read it before bedtime as you'll end up dreaming about it all night! I found Marianne's character so interesting. I've worked with women like her and seen the devastation that abuse like this causes. Sue Watson has portrayed her spot on and Simon is just such a horrible person. He has manipulated Marianne right from the beginning of their relationship and we learn snippets of this throughout the book. What Marianne thinks is love is actually more control. He has systematically turned her from the professional and confident woman she once was into someone almost begging for his love and approval.

The book is well written with the first half mainly about Marianne and her life with Simon. It covers her obsession that he will leave her for another woman. After all, her illness has seen her accuse him of affairs in the past. The second half of the book is more about her feeling strong enough to protect what is hers. I think my only criticism would be that the first half is a bit too long and at times repetitive. That being said, I still enjoyed it very much. I love books that are difficult to put down and that make it difficult to forget about the characters. Marianne is a character that I thought about periodically when I wasn't reading the book. I worried about her and was keen to find out what was going to happen to her. That's the sign of a great book. Definitely a recommended read from me! A love a book with a good twist too. A great read that would make a superb tv drama!