This is a truly gripping read and totally not what I expected.
Marlena, a girl with a horrendous background of abuse who rises up from living on the streets to marrying a very wealthy, prominent businessman. A rags to riches story but it is no fairytale. Michael Durst is no knight in shining armour - controlling, vicious, possessive and very, very dominant.
The truth behind Marlena's ambitions emerge slowly and as her friend from the streets, Jenny and Vin, Michael's bodyguard become more involved so the story builds. You start to learn about Marlena's siblings and the protectiveness she feels towards them and how driven she is to avenge the past.
This is a great psychlogical journey. Cleverly written and hard to put down I would highly recommend this book.

I was able to read this amazing book thanks for NetGalley, and Midnight Ink books.
What can I say? This book is fantastic. It is clever, well-written, and shocking.
We know from the beginning that
“Some people need killing..”
I’m going to read a book that has this description.
Marlena leaves her poor town and drug addicted mother to seek a new life. There she becomes a model and is discovered by her future husband. She can tell right away he is controlling but she has no idea what she’s in for.. or does she?Will she end up like the first snd second Mrs. Durst? Or will she fight back and win? The twists and secrets keep coming and keep you guessing.
I literally read this book in one day. I cannot recommend it enough and can’t wait to read future books from the brilliant author.

What an amazing thriller! I loved the character development and stayed up way past my bedtime to find out what was going to happen next. I highly recommend this author.

Yikes! Best book I've read in a while! Love, love, love. This is my first book by this author but certainly not my last. A perfect thriller to keep you up all night long because it's certainly hard to put down.

I was a little underwhelmed after having finished this book, "The Third Mrs. Durst". I think I was expecting a fast paced thriller that would pit two intelligent minds against one another-leading to the final demise of one of them. Although the book moved quickly as it was narrated by our main character-Marlena, I don't think her story was believable enough for me. There were too many cliche's and the plot was lackluster and this trope just seemed to have been done before. The ending just left a very bad taste in my mouth-- the author tried to hit us with some big twists and they just fell flat to me.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for a chance to read and give an honest review.

This was as fast paced as a book can get! It’s a story of revenge that you want to read in one go. The narration starts in the first person and hooks you immediately. It’s a classic domestic violence plot but with enough twists and turns to make you want to keep reading. The ending was a little drawn out but overall the book was crisp.
Marlena’s character offers some deep insights to life and you find yourself rooting for her. This book brings to light how difficult a seemingly easy life is. The violence of Michael Durst is agonizing and makes you physically sick sometimes. However the intricacies of the plot are handled brilliantly and make you want to keep reading. What motivates Marlena is the love that she felt for her sister and the desire to right the wrongs of Mr Durst. The characters are all complex and very well developed. Whether it is Jenny or Joanna, Clive or Vin, Marlena or Michael, they all add so much flavor to the plot. Marlena’s determination is almost inspirational. This is a quick and engaging read.
Thanks NetGalley and Midnight Ink for giving me this ARC for my unbiased review.

Very good book and a great description of domestic violence/abuse and how it can slowly build up to total lack of freedom. The book was awful in the sense of what the wife was put through but brilliant in the way you read it. Great book.

4* Obsessive Maniac Stars

I was attracted to this book by the beautiful cover as well as the title and I am happy to say that I was not disappointed by what I read.

This was a fast paced thrilling read, which was hard to put down. The story of Marlena and her monster husband Michael was captivating and chilling. Marlena was extremely brave to withstand the consequences that were delivered to her for the smallest oversight.

There were also some very likeable and interesting characters as well as some that were just horrid.
The story flowed well and the ending was very satisfying.

Many thanks to Midnight Ink and NetGalley for my copy to read and review.

Unputdownable! And I don’t use that word lightly. From the moment I started reading I couldn’t stop. Before I knew it, it had been 5 hours and I needed to go to sleep, but I couldn’t! I literally fell asleep reading this book because my eyes simply would not stay open a moment longer.
The protagonist, Marlena, is a very interesting, likable woman, whom I found myself rooting for! A product of a poor upbringing in a small town in Kentucky, Marlena is adamant on having a better future no matter what the price...or so she thinks. Marlena ends up living in a dangerous, terrifying, suspenseful world, married to a controlling monster. She’s quite the fighter, but can she survive being the third Mrs. Durst?

I ended up enjoying this book, the first part was very slow, mid way through it picked up and became more interesting. it starts with a question, some people deserve killing and maybe i am one of them. I love a good revenge story

*malicious grin*

This book is everything.

You don’t even fucking KNOW.

I just finished it and my fingers are actually shaking as I try to type out this review. Because adrenaline.

Real talk, if you are a super sweet person that has never once contemplated doing serious bodily harm to another human being, this book is probably not for you. This is more geared toward those of us who fall closer toward the “keep an eye on that” end of the sociopath spectrum.

The blurb hints that this is a story filled with violence and murder and other dark themes. It is. Whoo boy. But, speaking as someone who is especially harsh when these themes aren’t handled well, lemme tell you, Aguirre wielded them with the deft precision of a well-sharpened blade in the hand of a master swordswoman. When they hit, they cut deep, but you know each and every slice to your psyche was inflicted with surgical precision.

There are so many messages here. So many fundamental truths. And when spoken through the titular character’s stark, unabashed voice, they become profound to the point that I highlighted entire paragraphs.

On why she married Mr. Durst, despite the warning signs:

“I chose the road that looked prettiest from a distance, but I didn’t know then – sometimes the horizon is bright because it’s on fire.”

Foreshadowing. Yes. So here for it.

Which made this a delicious slow-build, where I never quite knew what was going on. I love unreliable narrators for this reason, and Mrs. Durst is one of the best I’ve read in a long time.

I fucking LOVED HER. Because I got her. Let me just say that not everyone will or can understand what motivates her. I do. And I’m not able to go into why right now, because spoilers.

So. Many. Spoilers.

What isn’t a spoiler is that Mr. Durst is abusive. This aspect of the story was almost too well done. Not even 25% of the way in, my blood was singing for vengeance.

As someone who has watched a loved one be manipulated, isolated, and broken down by their abuser, slowly, over the course of years, so that you don’t even recognize them anymore, this was really hard to read at times. Super trigger warnings for abuse, rape, and extreme violence.

But please, please don’t be put off by that warning. Like I said, these themes are well-executed. And there’s so much more to this story than murder and mayhem. The representation here is off the charts. And not just in obvious ways, but in smaller details that I doubt a lot of readers might catch because we’re so used to random side characters like doctors and cops always being men.

Subvert the patriarchy. Yes, queen.

If there’s any justice in the world, those hacks in Hollywood will toss out whatever remake script they’re currently considering cashing in on and instead produce this. I would watch the hell out of it. It would make an unbelievably good movie.

That ending.

Gah.

Honestly, I cannot recommend this enough for anyone looking for an adrenaline-packed thriller with darker themes and a female lead with questionable morals and sinister intentions.

Thank you to NetGalley and Midnight Ink for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Marlena has a perfect life or does she? She is her husband's 3rd wife and he controls her every moment, her friendships, her time, her clothes. He's very powerful so who would ever believe her That her perfect Prince is an abusive husband in reality.

I was expecting more I suppose from the blurb but it wasn't quite what happened in the book.

This was a good fast paced plot book with devious but human characters .
It is a read in one sitting book .
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

This was a quick read....The premise had me hooked... "Some people need killing"...Marlene is the third Mrs Durst and she plans on being the last...this is quite a cat and mouse story with a few surprises. However... It felt a little flat and generic...It did not have that wow factor.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of The Third Mrs Durst.

The Third Mrs. Durst had me glued to the pages from beginning to end. I read it in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it. I recommend it to those who like thrillers with devious characters.

Ann Aguirre offers an entertaining and atmospheric read. I recommend this book for those who are familiar with Aguirre’s work and those who want to read a book that builds character and suspense.

This began with a bang but then became overly wordy. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. I did like this book but felt it should have been edited more.

The Third Mrs. Durst is a good, solid read and one that set off plenty of "alarm bells" in terms of where this couples relationship was going. My only issue with the novel is that I found it very hard to like any of the characters. This could actually be the point of the novel and I know many readers will love this but I need to feel some connection to them in order to be fully invested in the story. Other than this, it's a full on thrill ride!

Title :The Thrid Mrs.Durst
Author: Ann Aguirre
Genre: Thriller

Book synopsis
Some people just need killing.

Marlena Altizer Durst lives in her husband’s shadow. He controls her every move—what she wears, the food she eats, and the friends she’s allowed to make. If she disobeys, there are… consequences. And he has all the power, so nobody would believe her.

Her Cinderella story has been well-documented and it seems that she leads a fairy-tale life. But nobody ever wonders if Cinderella was happy after she married the prince. Marlena has traded freedom and safety for luxurious imprisonment, and most days, that seems like a bad bargain. Death may be the only exit she’s allowed. Just like his first wife. And his second.

Unless she flips the script.

And gets away with murder…

My thoughts:
Rating:5 stars all the way
Would I recommend it? A BIG FAT YES , IN FACT I'm trying to talk one of my friends into reading it right now.
Would I read anything else by her: yes
Are there triggers that might be harmful to others ? Yes ,trigger warnings for rape.

Wow ,just wow , I can't seem to put how I feel about this book into words ,but I'm going to try .First let's talk about the character I hated ,the character that even though he was and is a book character had me thinking and plotting his disappearance / murder . And on that note that was the fault of my good friend Frishawn who wanted me to pick up this book right away since we both had it . And man was she once again right about me liking a book.And the drum roll please for the book character I was plotting to murder was and is the one and only Michael Durst - his a manipulative
narcissistic sociopath- who prays on young girls that come from nothing , and he then lures them into his web like a black widow spider or a carnivores praying mantis ,and when his poor victims are unaware he strikes and shows his truth colors , which is
abusive and sadist in every way ,his Bluebeard in the flesh ( and we all know what type of person he was ), plus he seems to like to try an turn his wives into the Stepford Wives ( and then when his done with them ,they meet their cruel fate ).And that all I'm saying about him ,
Now in to the character that I liked :
And that's Marlena - who reminds me of a striking cobra, fast and deadly but there was times I kept thinking stop playing with your food and get it over with because doing those times she was like a cat who plays with their food before the going in for the kill , but in the end she was the cobra , who is just as deadly as they are beautiful. With that said I want to say thanks Netgalley for letting me read and review it exchange for my honest opinion .

So, this is a thriller and is meant for entertainment purposes and it definitely does that. I don't think it aims to be profound as it isn't literary fiction, yet it touches on many issues we are facing as a society. It deals with society's view of women, rape, money and it touches on the south's epidemic with opioids among the poor and the extreme poverty of some in the south that people fail to see.

There were times I was so angry I wanted to throw my kindle. I don't know why I love stories with damaged people, maybe because I am a little damaged myself, but this book brought out every emotion and kept me entertained throughout. I finished this book in under 24 hours, I couldn't put it down. It's worth the pre-order.

And that ending!