Do you every truly know someone, especially the people you love? "The New Husband" by D. J. Palmer will definitely make you think twice! The soon-to-be release new novel starts out slowly, but quickly builds into an intensely terrifying nightmare. I read the author’s previous novel "Saving Meghan" which I thoroughly enjoyed and his latest novel was without exception. A big Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book. The New Husband is an addictive, riveting domestic thriller that will keep you asking questions.
.
.
Synopsis: When Glen Garrity disappears while out fishing one day the lives of his wife Nina, and their children Connor and Maggie are completely turned upside down. Everything that Nina assumed she knew to be true about her husband falls a part in a web of rumors, lies and deceit. A year and a half later Nina and the children are trying to start over again. Enter in the new man in Nina’s life widower Simon Fitch, who just happens to also be a Social Studies teacher at Maggie’s school. Nina believes she has found the perfect new man to share her life with. She makes the decision to move herself and the children into a new home with Simon. And while everything starts out promising there are cracks in the facade. However, Nina’s son Connor is easily accepting of this new situation but his sister Maggie isn’t quite sold on Simon, especially when she sees a darker side to his personality. She sets out to do anything she can to prove he is not who he appears to be and has something more sinister in store for her family.

This book was like a cheesy Lifetime movie, one where you're yelling at the screen because of how stupid the characters are.

I have said this in prior reviews, and I'll say it in this one: you can't have a book that relies on technology to forward the overall plot while simultaneously ignoring technology to forward other plot points. Maggie has to be smarter than this from the beginning. Take some videos, you idiot. Nina has to know about this thing called a background check. And without spoiling the "big reveal", I can't say what I really want to say about a very easy fix to this whole thing.

The writing was very basic, very young adult. I think I just read a young adult book, did I?

Nothing about this gripped me.

Unfortunately, compared to other books in this genre, it is a 2 star read that I kept putting down because I didn't really care what happened. This plot has been done before, and I don't like being frustrated by idiot, gullible characters who can't connect things.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

Hey-pay attention to Maggie and Daisy! Yes, Maggie's 13 and Daisy's a dog but these two have great instincts. Nina's world fell apart when her husband Glenn disappeared and she discovered that he had a whole secret thing going. Simon, who teaches at her daughter's middle school. seems like a terrific guy and Nina rebounds fast, to the extent that they move in together. Things aren't quite right, though, and only Maggie is persistent about it. There's a big twist here that takes this into the world of a little nuts but no spoilers. That twist also takes this out of the realm of the expected (you know, the controlling man with secrets). Nina's son Connor doesn't figure much in this but he's 16 and focused on football etc. Palmer does a good job of ratcheting up the suspense and keeps you turning the pages. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC, A fast diverting read.

DJ Palmer has done it again! His last book, Saving Meghan, kept me guessing as to what people’s true motives were and The New Husband was no different. Despite having a pretty good idea where things were headed I found myself tearing through the pages and questioning things I thought I knew. This book definitely kept me entertained in all this quarantine craziness.

Review posted on goodreads and will be posted to Instagram tomorrow

Can she really have bad luck twice in her selection of partner.
A disappearing husband which might have been holding some secrets from his wife.
The new guy in her live seems to be real loving and caring but is that his true self.
Two teenage kids. The attitude of the 13 year old girl was spot on. It easy to visualize what is happening.
This is a bone chilling thriller which makes it hard to put the book down. Expect a lot of unanswered questions along the way but it comes all together at the end.
I will not give away the story but highly recommend this book.

Nina has moved on with her life. After finding out that her husband was leading a double life, she just wanted some closure so she could move on but that wasn't to be because Glen ends up missing after going out fishing. His body was never found but after all this time he is presumed to be dead. It's now over a year later and Nina not only has a new man in her life but has found love again. Simon who is a widower himself has charmed her and has her believing in love again. Nina's son Connor has taken to Simon and enjoys the attention he gives a change from the way his own father was. Not everyone is in love with Simon though, her friends think he is a bit to obsessed and thinks she should be careful. Nina's daughter isn't taken with Simon either and Nina is doing her best to help the two get closer. With the way things are going Nina has fooled herself into thinking her new life has her back in track and all will be well. She will soon learn that lies can never stay hidden, your instincts are there for a reason, and life has a way of showing you.what really matters. This was an intense read that had.me jumping from one assumption to another. I never figured out what was truly going on until the end which made for such an exciting read. There were so many twists and turns and in the end you'll just as surprised as I was!

After almost 20 years together, Nina Garrity’s husband vanished one day under rather strange circumstances leaving her alone with their children. Not able to determine whether he’s dead or alive, Nina struggles to move on, but the more questions she asks, the more it seems she didn’t know her husband at all.
Barely a year and a half later, Nina is in a new relationship, moving into a new house with a new man despite her youngest child’s lack of compliance. Simon Fitch seems to be the perfect man: loving, attentive and always guessing Nina’s needs before she has a chance to voice them.
I have to say I was very attracted by the book’s blurb and wanted to find out what this story was all about, but I found myself with a rather predictable psychological thriller with a few unexpected twists.
The writing was good, fast paced and the story makes for a mildly entertaining read. I enjoyed the fact that the book was not only from Nina’s perspective, but her daughter Maggie’s as well and I have to say I liked the latter best. The author definitely managed to capture that pesky teenage attitude quite well and the delivery makes for a great visual image, like I could see the attitude pouring out of the character as I read.
Overall, I say it’s a decent read, but not high in my chart on this genre.

3.5 stars

The New Husband by DJ Palmer is a suspenseful thriller about Nina who suddenly finds her husband missing and presumed dead. To make matters worse she uncovers lies and secrets and questions his disappearance and motives. She juggles two children and the family dog, Daisy. In steps a handsome teacher from her daughters school with all the right things she needs to support herself and her family. Is Simon too good to be true? I enjoyed this family suspense thriller and found it to be a good pace with just a few moments that felt disjointed or rushed. Overall, I would recommend. I received this book as an ARC, all opinions are my own.

I read this book in one sitting, stayed up until 4am! This book hooks you immediately from the beginning. I won’t lie, I figured out what happened probably 30 pages in but it didn’t ruin it for me because I had to see how it played out and Palmer did a great job. I loved Maggie, she was a great character and I wanted to shake Nina several times but once she gets it together, she was a total badass. I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to give anything away. Overall it was a great book and I definitely recommend people to read it!

Under normal circumstances, THE NEW HUSBAND would merely be an exceptional novel of psychological suspense. During a pandemic that I think was mishandled by political leaders? It’s allegorical.

Nearly two years after her husband, Glen, disappeared, Nina believes he is dead and has moved on. She and her would-be fiancé, Simon, have bought a house together. Although some people—most significantly, her daughter Maggie—think she’s acting quickly, learning of Glen’s betrayals altered her grief.

But is Simon too good to be true? Maggie notices his occasional expressions of rage and Nina gradually notices that his behavior strays toward controlling.

True evil, gaslighting, manipulation, outright deceit—am I the only one who sees this behavior in certain politicians? But there is hope: perhaps we, like Nina, will be saved by the young adults. #TheNewHusband #NetGalley

This is a creepy psychological thriller that I found both compelling and disturbing. It is one that was hard to put down, yet part of me didn’t want to keep reading. Dark, twisty, creepy. I couldn’t read it at night!

A bone chilling read. The story is difficult to put down as you are amazed at the details. The psychological detail of the abuser and he events is very realistic. Simon has created a cruel reality for this family. He wants a new wife and goes to extreme lengths to ensure that things fall into place.Nina has lost her sense of trust in her instincts and fallen into his trap. The only person seeing clearly is her 13 year old daughter Maggie. Her voice in the story speaks the clearest and offers a wonderful insight from a child’s perspective. This is really a masterfully written piece of work that will make you sit up and take notice. A book you will definitely wanton your shelf to read more than once.

This book opens when someone in Seabury, New Hampshire discovers a boat without a captain with the deck covered in blood. It picks up about a year and a half later with Nina Garrity and her teenaged children moving in with Nina’s new boyfriend, Simon Fitch. Connor is adjusting fairly well, but thirteen-year-old Maggie misses her father and has no desire for a new stepdad. Nina doesn’t understand why Maggie is behaving the way she is because Simon is the perfect boyfriend. However, before Nina agrees to move forward with wedding plans, she too begins questioning some of Simon’s actions and also her own feelings.

The book alternates between Nina and Maggie’s points of view. For being a social worker, I am surprised at how many red flags Nina ignores. Even if she felt Simon really would be ideal as her “new husband”, she doesn’t seem as concerned about her daughter as she should, especially since Maggie has just gotten through some terrible incidents of bullying at her middle school. Maggie and her new friend Ben are the bright spots in this book. They are non-judgmental and loyal to each other and very intelligent. Maggie is determined to learn the truth about Simon, even when her mom ignores some of the danger signs.

The book had my full attention until halfway through when a twist came that I absolutely hated. The book went from intriguing and a little disturbing to ridiculous. The plot turns became too hard to believe and I lost interest. Things do pick up again once Nina starts trusting her instincts and listening to her daughter. The story wraps up a bit unbelievably, but in a mostly satisfactory way. The epilogue which updates everyone on the characters is done is a very clever way. I loved Palmer’s prior book “Saving Meghan”, but “The New Husband” was disappointing.

I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of St. Martin’s Press. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

I want to start this review with one word......WOW! Just. Wow. This book rates at the top for a psychological/domestic thriller that totally keeps you at the edge of your seat. There is no good stopping place once you get started reading it..........you just know you have to keep reading to see what happens! It begins with Nina, a woman with two teen-aged children whose husband, Glen, disappeared almost two years prior. They haven't found a body or any trace of him..... and then the rumors begin about Glen....so has her marriage been a lie? She attempts to move forward with a new love interest. As they move in together, it becomes apparent that while her son likes Simon, daughter Maggie does not. Of course it doesn't help that Simon is a teacher at the middle school that Maggie attends, and where she has become a social outcast due to the gossip surrounding her father's disappearance. So how does Nina know if the problems that keep arising are Maggie's imagination, her friend's jealousies, her own mind playing games on her? Or is it something to do with Glen? Palmer plays out the characters very well in letting the reader fall into the love, anxiety, dishonesty, and treachery that makes the story move with lightning speed throughout the book to the very end. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in return for an honest review, which this has been. #NetGalley #StMartinsPress

During the coronavirus pandemic, I have been unable to concentrate and read as usual. This is the first book in six weeks of trying, to not only grab my attention but keep me reading with abandon.

Nina’s husband, Glen, has disappeared. No body, just a bloody boat and their dog, Daisy. Nina thought her like to be typical of most. She was a stay-at-home mom; Glen the overworked Father. Throughout this book, Nina is forced to dig deep into her marriage and rely on her social work training as she discovers that this may not have been the relationship she perceived.

Nina jumps into a new relationship with the kind, caring, teacher of her daughter’s middle school, Simon. As they move in together, Nina is ready to give up being alone with the responsibility of single motherhood. She is thankful for Simon’s help and naively believes everything will fall into place once the family is settled. She doesn’t even have the energy to confront her daughter, Maggie’s, misbehavior. She leans on Simon for guidance and support.

As things crumble, Nina clings to the belief that everything will work out. Her nature to trust that everybody is basically honest and good may be her saving grace or the biggest mistake she makes.

The web of lies, with everyone maintaining their own secrets, cannot be easily untangled. The suspense jumps out on the first page beginning with an empty boat. By the time things begin to become clear, the reader’s heart will be pumping rapidly with fear. The author pulls you in to such a degree that you actually feel what the characters are experiencing.

The premise of this story has been done before but never with the exquisite timing of this book. Kudos to JD Parker for resurrecting this earlier written story and polishing it into the heart stopping thriller that The New Husband is. Thank you for giving me a couple days of escape.


I received an ARC from St. Martin Press through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

I was really hoping to love this one - and it was certainly a fun read, that I devoured in a day as the writing is easy and flows fast - but it just didn't feel all that thrilling to me. Maybe I read to many thrillers? I loved DJ Palmers last book so much, but this one was unfortunately just meh for me.

Right from the start you can kinda figure out where this one is headed. Your suspicions are easily confirmed with every scene, and I didn't find anything very twisty or shocking. It was all very predictable and unoriginal in my opinion.

While there's definitely a lot of emotion you feel while reading this - Simon is one of the most unlikable characters I've found in a thriller in a long time. Nina is so naive and really frustrating to follow. The daughter is a bit bratty. Is Simon a bit "off" as her daughter keeps insisting? Is her daughter just lashing out because she thinks her missing-dad-presumed dead is still alive? I was hoping the entire time for some fresh twists or shocking revelations ... and sadly, they never came for me. I had it all figured out by the second chapter.

The story is pretty slow, and for the most part uneventful up until the ending scene. If you like the easy predictability of a Lifetime movie and don't have high expectations for clever twists - this one will definitely keep you entertained - just not shocked or surprised.

The New Husband by D.J. Palmer ⁣
⁣
I thought this one started out a bit slow, but it also could have just been a me thing. ⁣
⁣
I definitely enjoyed the multiple perspectives in this one. Especially the few surprise perspectives that popped up at the end. ⁣
⁣
At first I didn’t really get why we were getting the daughter’s perspective and then it made sense a bit later. ⁣
⁣
Nina’s perspective is the typical wife perspective who’s in denial about her husband until the end. ⁣
⁣
And with a domestic thriller, I personally wouldn’t expect a bunch of twists. But there were at least two twists and the end was definitely action packed and it was probably my favorite part of the book! ⁣
⁣
I think I’d recommend this to those who are just starting out in domestic thriller land. ⁣

⁣

The New Husband by D.J. Palmer is a book I read in one sitting! This is the second book I have read by this author and it blew me away!!!

This thriller leaves you flipping pages. The plot was perfectly paced . The characters were well developed and fleshed out.

The twists and turns kept coming and I was so shocked at the ending. Highly recommend this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and DJ Palmer for the opportunity to read and review his latest domestic thriller - 4.5 stars for a wonderfully written twisty thriller that will keep you glued to the pages!

Nina is struggling to put her life together after her husband, Glen, went missing and is presumed to be either dead or a runaway. She is raising two teenagers, Connor and Maggie, and discovering love again with a new man, Simon, who seems picture perfect. Yet...Simon and Maggie don't get along at all and there are signs that not everything is as perfect as Nina wants it to be.

You don't want to know any more going into this book but trust me, pick this one up when it is published on Tuesday. You won't be disappointed!

A very exciting thriller about a woman whose husband mysteriously disappears and as she starts a new life with a new soon to be husband she realizes that something may be off about him. And as she starts to put the pieces together she realizes the mystery started way before her husband disappeared. I love a book that keeps surprising you at every chapter, and that's what this book did for me.