It’s been a while since I’ve stayed up into the early morning hours in an attempt to finish reading a book. I enjoyed the suspenseful nature of the book. It was a fast paced read, engaging and full of twists and turns to keep me interested.

One of my new favorite books! This author has such a way with words the pages flew by in no time! I can’t wait to see the next work by this author! This was such a joy to read!

Holy cow! This book was one of the most intense reads I've come across yet. Such a whirlwind of intrigue, mystery and emotions - you'll be turning the pages as fast as you can possibly read, until you've reached the end, and even then, you'll be left reeling!

I think I've been reading too much psychological suspense lately, because it's all starting to seem the same. Nutso characters one right after the other. This one had a timeline that was a bit difficult for me to follow, which made it more confusing than it really needed to be. I think if I were to go back and re-read the book now that I know how everything plays out (and the identity of each of the narrators) then I might like it better because I'd be able to figure out who was who through the telling. But honestly, I don't have the time to now go back and re-read in order to have the book gel better.
Let me just say that the narrators are unreliable and I didn't like ANY of the characters so there was no one for me to root for. I want to have someone to get behind and root for the "good guy" to win but in this case it was too muddled and no one was a good guy.
There are some very intriguing twists, which elevated the story a bit.

The Starter Wife has two unreliable narrators. There is the mysterious student who is stalking college professor Byron and his wife and there is Claire, Byron's second wife. The student feels that Byron's wife if not worthy of him and that she must protect him from her devious ways. She actually considers herself his "Guardian Angel", determined that at some point she will be married to Byron and he will know she is the perfect wife for him.

Claire is dealing with feelings of jealousy and resentment towards Byron's first wife, Coleen, whose wealth was responsible for the house they live in and the money they can spend on luxuries. She resents Coleen's former college professor career and also her second career as a painter and she hates that they are still living in the house that Byron and Coleen lived in before Coleen committed suicide.

I can't say that any of the characters in the book are likable although it's hard to know the truth of the other characters because we only see them mostly through Claire's eyes and sometimes through the eyes of the stalking student. When the book starts, Claire begins to get messages from Coleen and phone calls from an anonymous woman, alluding to something that is missing. Claire puts all her effort into finding out who is harassing her while she also is trying to set up fertility treatments behind her husband's back.

The book is very interesting except that the two narrators are so unlikable and seem to have no redeeming qualities that it's hard feel invested in what happens to them. The other characters, seen through those two women's eyes, can't be fleshed out realistically since we aren't getting the real facts about them. I did figure out some plot points ahead of time, but still had no idea how the book would end.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.

Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.


I thought that this would be another story about a woman who’s being terrorized but someone unseen while no one believes her, but I was surprised. The first 2/3 is mostly straight forward and you see Claire begin to unravel. But the twist towards the ending I didn’t see coming. It’s a good mystery book

I love all things by this author. I have always bee pleases with the plot and the thrill of the next page. Thank you for approving this title for me. Keep them coming

This was a fast paced, quick read and I enjoyed it a lot. While the characters frustrated me a lot of the times, it all made sense in the end. This could be a great group book, a lot of interesting debates could form about certain things.

It is a must read for fans of domestic thrillers.

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The Starter Wife

by Nina Laurin (Goodreads Author)





3.88 ·

Rating details · 105 ratings · 77 reviews
From the bestselling author of Girl Last Seen comes "a spine-tingler" (Booklist) of a psychological suspense, perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell and Jessica Knoll.

Local police have announced that they're closing the investigation of the suspected drowning of 37-year-old painter Colleen Westcott. She disappeared on April 11, 2010, and her car was found parked near the water ...more
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Paperback, 352 pages
Expected publication: June 11th 2019 by Grand Central Publishing
Original Title
The Starter Wife
ISBN
1538715716 (ISBN13: 9781538715710)
Edition Language
English

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This was only 5 chapters of this book, a sneak preview of this book. From the first 5 chapters, I can tell that this book from just five chapters is going to be a real page turner. Claire Wescott is married to Byron, who is about 20 years older then her and a professor at college. They live in a beautiful home. Is first wife committed suicide a number of years ago but they never found her body. Her name is Colleen. Now, Claire is getting emails from her with pictures of her engagement ring that she accidentally left in the bathroom. One doesn’t know why is supposedly dead wife is doing this and they also live in the home that he lived with Colleen which is beautiful and from her money. I can’t wait for the release of this book so I can finish it. I want to thank net galley for this sneak preview ARC for an honest review. Definitely a psychological thriller!!! I am editing my review because I just received the full ARC from net galley and now I can fully review this book. From the first five chapters I definitely wanted to be able to read this whole book which I can now. Talk about crazy women. I devoured this book in two days and everything you think is going on with his present wife Claire Wescott and her husband Dr. Bryon Wescott, the English professor and his first wife, Colleen, who supposedly committed suicide with no body ever found is such a crazy and wild ride. Finally three quarters into the book, we get the big reveal, we final get the major twist which I never saw coming. I highly recommend this book to fans of Gone Girl and. books of this genre. Again, thanks to net galley for this ARC of the whole book for an honest review!!! This is one roller coaster of a ride. Also it says paperback but I received an e book

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Claire is a writer. Byron is a college professor. After the death of Byron's first wife, Colleen, the two meet and soon get married. Even after the wedding Claire still feels like Byron never quite let go of Colleen. They live in her house with all of her things and the walls are still adorned with all of her paintings. Colleen's death was suspicious with no body ever found. Claire begins to become suspicious of Byron and soon begins a spiral of truth that changes both their lives and their marriage.

I enjoyed this book. I figured out a good portion of what was going to happen very early in the book, however, there were times when the author had me second guessing myself. The characters are quite typical with your average Crazy Ass Psycho. None of this was enough to stop me from enjoying it though, as I found myself wishing I could just stay hid away reading until the book was over. It was such a page turner and I really enjoyed every second of it!

I recommend this book to those who enjoy the crazy female characters and fans of domestic thrillers or even just thrillers in general. I really think fans of crazy women would definitely enjoy the this book a lot.

What really happened to Colleen? Did she die? Or is did she just...disappear? And why? That's the question Claire must face. She's married to Byron and, as the second wife, Colleen hangs over her head in ways that she can't even fully articulate. Now she's getting phone calls......What about Byron? What would you do? Ah- no spoilers. This is a nicely twisty domestic thriller with a couple of things that surprised me, a veteran reader of the genre. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Well plotted and nicely written- perfect for the beach or travel.

It took me a few chapters to get into this one, but once I did, I didn’t want to put it down. Enthralling, disturbing, surprising, and masterfully written. Several times I had to go back to read a section again, and there were a few times that I set it down to process what was occurring in the book. Very entertaining and kept me on my toes for most of the story.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. The opinions shared are my own.

Having read Nina Laurin's previous books, when I saw The Starter Wife pop up for reading/review on NetGalley. It was one I was requesting as I have loved her previous books with their twists and turns. The Starter Wife which seems to be a theme lately for psychological thrillers from Verity by Colleen Hoover to The Wives by Tarryn Fisher and The Third Mrs. Durst by Ann Agguire. In The Starter Wife by Nina Laurin, we have a scene in a diner which feels like an obsessive stalker romance, and then the novel jumps to our main characters who are happily married or so it seems. The female character Claire is about twenty years younger; than her husband. Her husband is a professor at the local college, while she is a stay at home wife trying to write the next best thing. During the book, our main character, Claire, gets a strange phone call asking her where it is? This is just after she tries to sell a painting created by Colleen Westcott, her husband's first wife. After a bit of research, Claire discovers that her husband was suspected of killing his first wife. In the middle of the book, strange things are happening to Claire, and she is starting to convince herself that it's a matter of time before she is gotten rid of too like yesterday's trash. Can Claire find evidence that her husband killed his first wife before she is next? In the third part of the book, Claire's past comes to light and OMG this is where it got exciting and all the major twists and turns and then I did not see that coming parts started to happen.

“I’m overcome with a sensation of vulnerability, alone and exposed in this airy room like a goldfish that becomes aware of her tank for the first time.”

Claire and Byron have been married for a few years. Byron’s first wife, Colleen, died ten years ago in an apparent suicide and to Claire, it’s clear he has not moved on from her death. Colleen’s paintings still adorn the walls of every room in the house they shared and he won’t let Claire redecorate even though she now lives there with him. Even worse, he proposed to Claire with a replica of the lost emerald heirloom ring that he had given to Colleen.

Claire’s insecurities regarding her infertility, inability to have her writing published and Byron’s hangups on Colleen start to get the best of her. When odd things start happening - for example, strange emails appearing and disappearing - Claire begins to convince herself that Colleen didn’t actually die.

Is Colleen alive and coming back for revenge? Is Claire losing her mind? Is something entirely more sinister going on?

This book was intriguing and kept me guessing. I didn’t feel particularly invested in any of the characters and there were a lot of loose ends that weren’t addressed. All in all an enjoyable read for any thriller lover looking for a bit of crazy!

I didnt have much preconceptions as I don;t know this author but i did enjoy this book. It was pacy and very atmospheric, to the point that I was slightly freaked out reading the 2nd half. Decent premise and I enjoyed the satisfying twist. recommended.

Hmm, so while reading this book I had an idea where it was going, but I wasn't sure I was loving it. It did keep my attention enough to keep me reading to the end, but now that I've finished... I don't know. I feel a bit let down. The story has a lot going for it and most of the pieces are there, I just don't think this one quite worked for me in the end. It's hard to discuss much about this book without giving away the plot so I won't go into a lot of detail, but it seems the more I think about what to say about this book, the less I like it. Maybe it was that some things felt thrown in without really being developed or maybe it's that I just didn't really like any of the characters or maybe it's that I've been reading some really great psychological fiction lately and this one just didn't hold up next to those. Whatever it is, though I think this book will work for some, it's not one I'll be recommending to friends.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I admit, I had low expectations going into this book, but I was pleasantly surprised! Some of the twists were fairly predictable, but there were enough angles and turns and layers to go along with them to keep it from feeling stale. And I liked the slow “growth” of Claire from the start of the story into...well, into what she turned into.

This is one of the better domestic psychological suspense novels I’ve read in recent years. It moves quickly, doesn’t drag plot points out unnecessarily, and puts a fresh spin on the traditional tropes. I would definitely read more by this author!

The Starter Wife by Nina Laurin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cuckoo! Cuckoo! :)

This is definitely for all you mystery/thriller fans out there who can't get enough of your CRAZY WOMEN. You know, the Single White Female types, the Fatal Attraction types... or even Gone Girl. :)

All the nastiest tropes of our favorite crazy girls are upped here for our reading pleasure, evoking gales of disturbed laughter from tortured chests. :)

Fun. Good, evil fun. :)

The Starter Wife by Nina Laurin checked all the boxes a thriller does. There was romance with an air of mystery, ambiguous narration to build suspense, a jawdropping twist, and a big reveal of what was really going down. So, there's that. This book is about a husband's current wife being strangely haunted by her husband's first wife who was deceased. There is lingering suspicious that said husband may have murdered his wife even though it had originally been ruled death by suicide. Claire now finds herself increasingly swept up in this concern, particularly because it seems this first wife is now haunting her. Y'all, there was a twist in this one that I did not see coming. I knew there was going to be something, of course, but I did not figure it out until it was explicitly revealed. That was the peak of the read for sure, and it's worth reading for that moment and the subsequent unraveling. That said, I didn't enjoy the book as much once the big reveal happened. It was just so much build-up to that, and the last bit wasn't as captivating. It wasn't bad per se, but it just wasn't the same build, and I want to be real with y'all about how I felt. Overall, this is definitely an ideal page-turning beach read, and it's coming your way in June. Thanks to NetGalley for a sneak peek of another great read.

Definetly really enjoyed this and I know that I will be seeing this around the pool! This thriller kept me on my toes whereas very few do nowadays. Much more original than ones I've read of late. Love!
Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.