An improvement on writing style from her debut novel, but left some to be desired in plot and pacing.

I had a little difficulty getting into this book. The characters were quite unlikeable. There were lots of twists and turns, and it didn't completely make sense to me.

Let me start of by saying I was really looking forward to this book. The first 25% or so had me intrigued. It had the premise of a great thriller- the rich older man snags a young wife who had a much less extravagant upbringing. Then it was just weird. Sex, voo doo... such a strange plot. No chills. No thrills. A random ending that felt like the author was like "oh let me just throw in this curveball".
Thank you for the ARC, but overall this book just was not for me.

This wasn't what I expected based on the synopsis. If you love psychological thrillers that are somewhat realistic then this isn't the book for you.

This book was great. I loved the pace of the writing and felt like I couldn't put it down. The characters were all a little flawed but I still wanted to see what happened and how things played out. I enjoyed this book.

Dead to Her is set in the city of Savannah among the rich, elitist society - the story has some interesting and really unlikable characters.. Marcie is the main character and the second (younger) wife of a wealthy southern lawyer Jason. Marcie was a waitress who had a steamy affair with Jason and now has woven herself into the wealthy community. Then William, Jason's boss, returns from a trip to England with a new, beautiful and *much* younger wife, Keisha - and the town can't stop talking about the couple. Marcie starts to suspect that Keisha likes Jason a little too much and is also jealous that it seems like Keisha has replaced Marcie in the "hot young wife" category.

There is quite a bit of steamy sex, lots of secrets to uncover and twists and turns that will keep you guessing. While I liked the story, the characters were just SO unlikable and unfortunately I kept waiting for the big WHOA moments to come and it just didn't.

Thanks to Sarah Pinborough, Harper Collins and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me a copy of the e-Arc. I am very grateful! This one was very exciting and will definitely read more from this author in the future!

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and the storyline was really suspenseful. I look forward to reading more from the author.

This did not go anywhere CLOSE to where I thought it was going to go. The less you know about this book going into it, the better. Absolutely wild and incredible ride.

When I requested Dead to Her by Sarah Pinborough, I thought I was signing on for a book that would be “‘Big Little Lies’ meets ‘Rebecca’…a saucy novel about insecure second wives dragged down by secrets [and] jealousies…” Instead the book’s main attraction seems to be an adulterous lesbian love affair with a dose of
voodoo thrown in for good measure. I admit I was not familiar with this author but nothing in the description of the book flagged that these two things were ahead.

This would have been a “did not finish” had this been a book for which I had not promised to write an objective review. I don’t want to say too much more because this book is likely to appeal to others, but it is NOT “Big Little Lies” meets “Rebecca.”

Sarah Pinborough is a British author. Her novel Behind Her Eyes, an adult psychological thriller, is being developed by Netflix for 2021.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting August 30, 2020.

I would like to thank HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

"Dead to Her" is one I was looking forward to reading because I'd heard fantastic things about the author but sadly this book did not do it for me. When I read the synopsis before beginning it I went in thinking this book would go one way and it went a whole different direction. The story is pretty outrageous. I didn't care for any of the characters either. Sigh. Maybe I will check out one the author's previous novels.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever had your significant other go out of their way to place their phone face-down? What is the first thought that comes to mind?

“There is no kind of paranoid jealousy like an old rich man’s.”

“...She was a serpent in their midst. But she’d play along for now.”

There’s a new wife in town, and she is one HOT commodity. Not only is Keisha much younger at 22 then even the “newest” of the wives but she’s the only one with lusciously smooth black skin, which is alien to this community. But, it’s only seen as a problem because she is so attractive, with a killer personality to boot. How are any of the other ladies supposed to compete with that?

Marcie, 35, the most recent addition to the “group” coming 6 years before Keisha is immediately taken aback. William Redford IV could be the girl’s grandfather at 65 and he had only just lost his wife, Eleanor, less than a year ago. For Marcie is also a second wife and she knows what it’s like to have someone lust for a younger, much newer prize. Her own husband Jason was no different than “Billy” having cheated on his wife with Marcie, a waitress that he met randomly one evening. So, when she sees Jason’s wandering eye the day that they meet this new bride her self- consciousness goes into full flare. But what she doesn’t expect is for Keisha to return the flirting so quickly; so obviously and in public nonetheless. If they’re trying to get a rise out of her, it’s most definitely working.

“Marcie wasn’t sure if she wanted to rip this breathtaking woman’s eyes out or go and scream in a corner.”

“Your old man’s still got it. You’d better work harder to keep me.”

“She felt her space being erased. She’d been the youngest for so long. It was what she had, the quiet envy of her friends and now it was being stripped from her by this confident younger usurper.”

But when the 2 a.m. phone calls start coming, Jason gets caught lying, and Keisha and Jason keep ironically ending up alone, or at least without HIS wife, Marcie starts to become convinced that there is something going on.

“Once a cheat, always a cheat. Thrill seekers seek thrills and that’s all there is to it.”

“This situation could not continue, something was about to break and she was afraid it would be her.”

But, what happens when her husband demands that she become friends with the new girl? When Keisha confides that her new life isn’t all it was cracked up to be?

“Did he really see himself as her Prince Charming?”

“Dress this way, walk that way, speak this way, be a good girl.”

In this story not a single soul has a clean past. Everyone has something to hide. But, what could possibly lead to the poisoning of an “ innocent” human?

Wait until you find out who the REAL puppet-master is here!

Page 373 😳😳😱😱 !

I could not put this book down! There were twists that I saw coming and some that I hadn’t a clue!

“Behind Her Eyes” is one of my all time favorite thrillers, so I was definitely anxious that this one wouldn’t hold up to my expectations. Oh, but it did!

This book gets weird at times, but hold on and push through it because I promise you Sarah Pinborough doesn’t leave any loose ends! You will have all the answers you could need all in due time !

With 45 pages left I still had NO CLUE what to expect!

Pinborough Nailed it !

5 stars!

Thank you Netgalley, William Morrow & Sarah Pinborough for an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault

Thank you so much @WilliamMorrowBooks & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 11 February 2020)

SYNOPSIS | Marcie Maddox has always felt like the outsider as she is the second wife of Jason and their relationship started as an illicit affair. As she wasn't born & bred into this world, she finds it incredibly hard to maintain their perfect Savannah, Georgia lifestyle. When Jason's boss comes back from Europe with an even younger hotter new wife (Keisha), Marcie notices the magnetic attraction between her & her husband & immediately feels threatened.

WHAT I LIKED:
- the whole feeling like an outsider was written really well

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- there wasn't a single character that I actually liked or rooted for. They were all terrible in their own ways.
- the sex scenes were unnecessary (why was there an orgy?!) and at times just outright cringe worthy
- did not connect with the entire voodoo subplot & didn't think the heritage of it was explained very well
- I liked unbelievable twists (I mean I loved Behind Her Eyes) but the ending of this book just did not do it for me

Another solid offering from Pinborough. A recommended purchase for collections where thrillers are popular.

I'm a huge fan of Sarah Pinborough and this book did not disappoint! I thought several times I had it figured out, but she was able to throw me for a serious loop at the end. Great read!

This author’s style and charm have worked their magic on me and perhaps now my opinions (as a super fan) may seem biased, but would I even be a super fan if the books weren’t indeed super?! Lovely read for genre cravings.

Didn't like this one. So sad because the author is just one of my favorites. The story is too convoluted, it's hard to care for any of the characters, they are all awful people and even the ones that you hated throughout all the book at the end you find out that maybe they werent so bad but who cares when it's too late. There were so many hidden things coming out all the time that it wasn't shocking anymore. There should be a point when the authors should stop with the twists and turns because then something like this happens. Like I said it's hard to like I book for me when you don't care for the characters.

I absolutely loved Behind Her Eyes, so when I saw this I knew I had to read it! And I am so glad I did! THis book is like a sports car, 0-60 in 3 seconds and it doesn't stop! Fun characters, great writing and more twists that a twizzler! Thank you so much for letting me enjoy this!

This book started off so well, with captivating characters and an interesting plot that kept me engaged. However, the last half of the book was generally confusing and did not mesh with the first half of the book. The characters in the second half were quite dreadful, and it felt almost like reading two separate books.

First line: The candle burns.

Summary: Marcie Maddox has fought hard for the life she has. She is the second wife of a rich and successful Savannah lawyer. Lunch at the Country Club and a giant house is her new normal. However, when her husband’s business partner returns from England with a young new wife life in her social circle gets turned upside down.

Keisha, a young girl from London, married the rich William Radford IV. She is completely different from his first wife. It seems like being a rich wife will be an escape from her family and their poor life. But William plans to train her to be the obedient wife.

As these two women meet and become friends life starts to change for both of them. Weird appearances and pieces of dark magic start to surround them. Who or what is trying to destroy their lives?

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this! I was worried when I started it that it would not live up to my expectations because of its low rating on Goodreads. But I was pleasantly surprised! All the characters are awful. There is no one that is likeable. They are all flawed and have dark pasts but that was one of the things I enjoyed the most. I had to find out how it was going to end.

This is a fun mixture of thriller, high society, and voodoo. What’s not to enjoy? The beginning centers on establishing the characters. We meet everyone and get snippets of what their lives have been to this point. And then it all comes to a point. All the secrets are released. So many suspects and theories. It was a wild ride that I highly recommend for a fast summer thriller!

FYI: Sexual content.