Wow!!! Dear Wife is everything you could ask for in a psychological suspense novel - well-developed characters, multiple storylines in play, and surprises round every turn make this a book that is VERY hard to put down. At 87% into the book when I thought I had figured things out - WHAM!!!! A twist that I didn't see coming! I LOVE it when that happens!!!

The book blurb does a good job of laying out the basics and if I tell you more, it would ruin the read for you, which I definitely don't want to do. Do yourself a favor and add this to your TBR list. Dear Wife is one heck of a delightful read and definitely worth your time!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Park Row for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed are my own.

If my husband doesn't report me missing, am I really gone?

4.5 stars rounded down

I kind of loved this book, fellow readers. It's fast-paced, fun, twisty, clever, and most importantly, it's not one I was able to completely figure out. For that reason alone, I gave it an additional half star. The red herrings were excellent, but even more importantly, the story's set-up made it truly hard to figure things out. I was impressed.

Having enjoyed Kimberly Belle's 2016 novel, The Marriage Lie, I had high hopes for Dear Wife...it didn't disappoint. The characters are strong and well-developed, the plot is intensely complex, and the story is told from three separate points of view...Beth, Jeffrey, and Marcus...this book would make a marvelous beach read.

Trigger warning: Domestic Violence

Great appreciation is extended to NetGalley and Park Row Publishing for my ARC.

Publication date: June 25, 2019
Goodview review published: June 24, 2019

Dear Wife is the story of a missing woman, Sabine and the detective, Marcus, tasked with finding her. After following the evidence and interviews with her husband, Jeffrey, her sister, Ingrid, and her lover, Trevor, the reader begins to wonder if Sabine is on the run. We meet "Beth" who has escaped her abusive husband and is living in a big city, but constantly worrying that her husband will find her. As the days continue on, stretching into 8 days missing, the media begins to suspect Sabine is dead. Will Marcus find Sabine or is she really dead?

Without giving away any spoilers, the twist at the end is an amazing, drop the book and gasp, shock! I did not even find any suggestions or hints at the ending and loved it so much! The writing is perfect and intriguing - it reaches out and grabs you and doesn't let you go until the last page. If you can only pick one book to read this summer, I'd choose this one - it's that good!

I received an advance copy. All opinions are honest and my own.

It is official; I am now a huge fan of Kimberly Belle! I read The Marriage Lie and liked it, but I loved Dear Wife. Kimberly Belle gives us a nonstop thriller that is tension-filled and had so many twists and turns it had my head spinning. This book grabbed me from the first page and kept me reading well past my bedtime.

I am not going to tell you to much about the plot of this book; you will get no spoilers from me. I will say that there are two things that you will know for sure; the first one is that Beth Murphy is on the run from her abusive husband and secondly Sabine Hardison is missing. So this is what I can tell you, Jeffery, Sabine’s husband has reported her missing and the lead detective, Marcus, will do just about anything to find out what has happened to her. Beyond that, the author keeps us guessing and shaking our heads, wondering what is going on. At one point, I felt like everyone was lying and hiding something.

Dear Wife is well written, with an engrossing, twisted plot line. The characters are expertly developed, and Ms. Bell makes you love some of the characters and some she makes you hate with all your heart. One of the things that stood out for me was the internal dialogue that Beth had with her abusive husband. Ms. Belle does an excellent job of showing the reader just how terrified an abused woman feels.

Dear Wife is a compelling, brilliantly developed, cleverly written domestic thriller that should not be missed. The perfect book to take on your summer vacation! I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

***I kindly received this galley by way of NetGalley/publisher/author. I was not contacted, asked, or required to leave a review. I received no compensation, financial or otherwise. I have voluntarily read this book, and this review is my honest opinion .***

Kimberly Belle has done it again! I was looking for a book to get me through post-surgery blues and this thriller did the trick! I could not put this twisty, suspenseful , entertaining book down! I really enjoyed the read and I highly recommend it! 5 breathtaking stars!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me this ARC in return for an honest review.

Loved this book!!! So many twists and turns. I never guessed the truth about Beth. There were so many clues about her true identity, but I seemed to completely miss them until the end. It was hard to put this book down, I just wanted to find out the truth about everything. Beth was one smart cookie. All the planning that it took and the deliberate actions. I just wished her family members would have helped her. They knew what was going on but chose to look the other way. There was no love lost between Jeffrey and Ingrid. The way that Jeffrey described his wife's sister just made me laugh so hard. Sabine and Ingrid were twins but apparently looked nothing alike. "She (Ingrid) is the angry, ogre version of Sabine, the kind that bathes in swamp water and gnaws on bones under a bridge." Yes, it's mean but I found it funny. This is my favorite Kimberly Belle book so far, and I have loved and read them all. I loved the writing style, characters and story-- simply everything about the book.

Definitely recommend the book!!! Absolutely loved it. It will keep you on your toes until the very end. I look forward to reading the author's next book!!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from HARLEQUIN – Trade Publishing (U.S. & Canada) through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Dear Reader,

READ THIS BOOK! How's that for a review? Dear Wife by Kimberly Belle is a five-star read for me, and I am incredibly thankful to NetGalley and Park Row books for allowing me to read and review this ARC of what has become my favorite mystery of the year.

Anyone who knows me is already aware that I'm a Kimberly Belle fan. I could not wait to get my hands on Dear Wife. I'm always that much more exuberant when a book I've been excited to read surpasses my expectations and makes me fall in love with it, regardless of whether or not I've loved a book by the author before. That said, I think Dear Wife is my favorite #BelleBook yet. (Is that a thing? Because it should be.)

As someone who has spent much of the last four years working with women — and men — who are suffering through or recovering from toxic relationships (at my "day job"), I am always pleased to see an author create awareness surrounding these narcissistic environments. Emotional and physical abuse is rampantly prevalent in the United States (and around the world!). Women (and again, men) are breaking their silences and speaking out against these abusers, which is why I believe stories such as Dear Wife are as important as ever to be written and read.

Beth Murphy has been planning her escape from her abusive spouse for nearly a year, and today is the day she's been dreaming of. She leaves her entire life in Pine Bluff, Arkansas in the rearview mirror. Her name. Her family. Her identity. Anything that keeps her tethered to the man she's married to.

Back in Pine Bluff, real estate broker Sabine Hardison goes missing. Her husband, Jeffrey, and her sister, Ingrid, are desperate to find her...but are they looking for her for the same reason? Detective Marcus Durand isn't so sure. The more he looks into the circumstances surrounding Sabine's disappearance, the more he uncovers the true nature of her marriage.

Beth knows it's only a matter of time until her husband finds her. Will she be ready for him when he does? Will he have uncovered her carefully laid clues?

Leaving is just the beginning.

I couldn't put this book down. It's suspenseful, dramatic, and keeps you wondering what is really going on. Who is to be believed? Who is lying? I am a huge fan of the way Beth narrates her story, as if she's speaking directly to her husband the whole time — a one-sided conversation that depicts a vivid image of the life she's left behind.

This book hits the shelves TOMORROW — June 25th, 2019 — and I hope you all flock to get your copies. Because you really, really should.

Warnings include some explicit language, but there are no graphically violent scenes.

"Why doesn't she just leave? gets asked in living rooms and courtrooms across the country, when a better question would be, Why doesn't he let her go?" ~Dear Wife by Kimberly Belle

Dear Wife throws one major curveball at readers more than halfway through. An abused wife is one the run and tries to throw her husband off her trail. She has deployed several tactics as she attempts to begin anew. The story shifts from three- four characters. Except, the one whom you would think is he chief narrator turns out not to be the wife that you assume. It's a good read and a twisted road to arrive at the end.

Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “Dear Wife” by Kimberly Belle, Park Row, June 25, 2019

Kimberly Belle, Author of “Dear Wife” has written an intriguing, compelling, intense, edgy, emotionally-charged, and suspenseful novel. The Genres for this novel are Psychological Thriller, Suspense, and Mystery and Fiction. The timeline for this story is mostly in the present and goes to the past when it pertains to the characters or events in the story. The author describes her dramatic characters as complex, complicated and motivated. This is a thoughtfully written powerful story with adventure and the chase. There is the feel of Cat and Mouse, twists and turns, secrets, and many hidden surprises.

“Beth Murphy” has carefully planned her escape from her abusive husband. If her husband finds her, that could be dangerous and deadly.

Jeffrey Hardison comes home to find his wife Sabine is missing. Her twin sister knows more information about his wife than he does. Sabine’s car is gone, and it looks like something is very very off.

This is a page turner, and I couldn’t stop reading! Kimberly Belle has written a very edgy and intense, thought-provoking novel that I highly recommend.

I fell in love with Belle’s writing when I totally devoured The Marriage Lie and despite reading it a few years ago I still think about that ending to this day! If you haven’t read that one do yourself a favor and get on it and then when you get done grab this one because it does not disappoint either! In a market saturated with authors trying to be the next Gone Girl on a Train Who Bumped Her Head and Can’t Remember Who She Is, Belle is a standout. Her books are extremely clever and while I would put them in the same category as all of the Girl books, she breathes fresh life into the genre with her unique style and ability to do something original and wholly her own.

This one was so devilishly clever that I don’t even really want to say much about the plot but it’s told via multiple perspectives and reads super fast, one of those honestly unputdownable books. I kept thinking I knew exactly how things would end up fitting together but guess what?! I was dead ass wrong! Well played KBelle 👏 👏 👏

Highly recommended to all thriller fans, this was one hell of a fun, wild and entertaining ride!

Dear Wife in three words: Slick, Surprising and Compulsive

After years of being physically abused by her controlling husband,Beth has had enough and is desperate to escape.Finally the day comes that she can put her plan into action after a year of planning and she stages her disappearance and prays she has enough of a head start before her disappearance is all over the local news. Jeffrey returns home from a business trip to find his wife is missing. Most of her belongings are still in the home.Did she leave willingly or has something awful happened to Sabine?

I have had this on my Net Galley list, and was thrilled to be approved a few days ago. Once I started reading this I could not put it down. Beth may have fled from her abusive husband,but she thinks of him often,just to stay one step ahead. She also tells the story of how they met and what has led her to be on the run from the man she once loved. This is a fast paced story that is told from multiple points of view, and I liked that I was able to gain more insight from the other characters. That being said, there are so many twist even the most experienced thriller reader will not be able to see this ending coming.



I would like to give a big thanks to Net Galley and Harlequin Publishers to allow me to have access to this title for my honest review.

I rate this:

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Three Days Missing made me a fan of Kimberly Belle but Dear Wife propelled her into auto-buy status. Y'all, I read this book as a buddy read with Tamara over at Traveling With T blog and we both think this is a juicy, delicious, twisted read!

Beth is on the run from her abusive husband―she's made one thing very clear: if he finds her, he's going to kill her. She's gone to a lot of trouble over the past year carefully planning her escape down to the very last detail by making sure she's saved lots of cash, grabbed a burner phone, and laid a fake trail. But will that be enough to keep him finding her?

Sabine is a successful realtor who has suddenly gone missing. As the police begin to investigate, they uncover many hidden secrets between Sabine and her husband Jeffrey that make him a suspect in her disappearance. Clearly, this was not a happy marriage.

The story is told through the three POVs of Beth, Jeffrey, and Marcus, the detective determined to find the missing woman. Is Beth really Sabine? Or is there more than one missing wife in this story? What is really going on?!

All the characters are keeping secrets (some super dark) and you'll have to be clever to figure out this smart, twisty novel! Trust me, nothing is what it seems in Belle's latest, uniquely structured book! Tamara and I tossed around theories about what was going on until we finally hit the nail on the head. Whew, Kimberly Belle, you blew our minds!

Dear Wife is a book with so many shocking surprises without being over the top twisted (thank goodness)! If you're looking for a quick, unputdownable, brilliantly written read with an unexpected yet plausible ending then here you go! It's also got a strong female lead determined to overcome abuse―win-win!

Tamara and I both recommend this one and think it's going to be a HUGE hit this year; we also plan on buddy reading every book Belle writes since we had so much fun reading this one together! It's got a Gone Girl vibe without really being like it if that makes sense: the clever writing, propulsive plot, and uniqueness make this a sure hit! A perfect summer suspense read (triggers for domestic abuse).

**Thank you Netgalley, Park Row-Harlequin Books, and Kimberly Belle for the gifted copy.**

Kimberly Bell has a reputation for writing masterful stories in the genres of mystery and thriller. After reading Dear Wife, I can understand why. This is a story of domestic abuse and survival.

Sabine Hardison is missing and Beth Murphy is on the run from an abusive relationship. The style of writing used in this story adds to the intensity. Ms. Bell tells the story from each characters point of view. There is nothing predictable about this story. There are many hold your breath moments. The book grabbed at the beginning and held me to the end.

I highly recommend this book to everyone and especially fans of mysteries and thrillers. It is well written. The characters are very interesting; each with his or her own thoughts and ideas. Things are not always what they appear to be.
Thank you #Netgalley and #ParkRow for approving my request for an ARC. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

This book was spectacular! I couldn't put it down. Even when I slept I woke up every couple of hours to read just a little bit more. It was THAT good!
The book deals with domestic violence and what one woman will do, with careful planning, to get away. You will never believe the ending.......I was completely shocked!
#DearWife #NetGalley

Oh boy. This book is unputdownable with a capital UNPUTDOWNABLE! Yes, I know that is not a word but you will not want to stop reading until you turn that last page.

Beth Murphy has planned her escape from her abusive husband very meticulously.

Sabine Hardison is missing. As the story unfolds, we find out so much about Sabine, her husband, her secrets, and we follow the case with the lead detective Marcus Durand.

Things get uncovered, boy, do they and you will wonder just who is who and what is going on! This is the perfect mystery. All the pieces equal a very intriguing whole. I needed to know what the heck was going on! It is very well developed, every detail exact and so very well written.

You do NOT want to miss this one. It comes out this Tuesday. You can thank me later.

Thanks to Netgalley and Park Row for an advance copy of this great book.

A very good triple narrative that kept me guessing all the way through! I don't want to give it all away by saying too much about the actual mystery. Instead I'll tell you that the intertwining narratives were really well done and I loved the realistic and amusing secondary characters. A satisfying read.

Dear Wife was my first Kimberly Belle novel and definitely won't be my last. I've had Three Days Missing sitting on my shelves for way too long and need to pick it up! Looking forward to reading more of her work.

To say this was a wild ride would be putting it mildly. I could not put this down and read it in just two sittings. Absolutely loved the narration between Beth, Marcus & Jeffrey. This book flowed so well and kept me guessing. Lots of interesting characters are introduced throughout the chapters but it's done so flawlessly that it never got confusing. Dear Wife is twisty, clever and unpredictable!! (Trigger Warning: Extreme Physical/Mental Domestic Abuse)

If you're looking for an unputdownable thriller this is your next read!

Thank you Harlequin books and Netgalley for a copy of Dear Wife by Kimberly Belle for review. Available June 25/19.

Dear Wife was an interesting read. Lots of different points of view and the whole story is revealed in bits and pieces along the way. The most interesting perspective for me was the anonymous woman running away from an abusive relationship. You don’t get many details about her situation until later in the book so that mystery really drives the story.
I did find it a little slow going at the beginning but once we got more into the plot lines, I really liked it. Great choice for those who love to try and guess the twists along the way!

Kimberly Belle's newest novel, Dear Wife, is now my new favorite. This timely, suspense-filled thriller grabbed me on the first page and never let me go until I finished. I devoured it in one day. Beth plans her escape from her abusive life and has to be smarter than everyone else to make it work. Jeffrey is the husband who comes home to a missing wife who might be a victim of foul play. Marcus is a detective who is assigned the case and does anything to try to solve it. As the case unraveled, so did the characters and their motivations. Each chapter ended right when something new was being discovered.

Beth's character showed how hard it is to remove yourself from an abusive relationship and what sacrifices you have to take to accomplish it. Her strength, will, and determination was crystal clear throughout this book. I found myself cheering her on as she made some hard choices to complete her plan.

I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

There are a lot of books in this domestic thriller category and choosing one can be difficult. This is one of the better ones and one I will be recommending to my customers. The tale of an abused woman fearing for her life and on the run is not a new one, but the author has added some new twists here. If thrillers are your thing...this is one to pick up.