This starts of sooooo slow. It was nearly 20% in before this really perked up.
Even then I found it rather predictable.
There were some interesting bits here & there, but overall it was mostly just waiting for the author to reveal what I had suspected.
Not the thrills I was hoping for.
There was one very large star in this book...
Daisy the dog was hands down my favourite character.
That kiddo Ben comes in a close second.
The book isn't bad, but it isn't great.
Beach read I guess?
Thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for my DRC.

While I admit I thought this book got off to a slow start, the second half definitely held my attention. Overall, it was an enjoyable psychological thriller with characters you just love to hate. And it might just have you looking at the people around you in a whole new light but hopefully faster than the protagonist, Maggie, did!

The New Husband by D.J. Palmer is a book that was just all over the place for me as I read it. It started out really promising in the very beginning and then it just slowed to a snail's pace that lasted for far too long, so long in fact that I wanted to not finish it. I didn't like any of the characters and as the chapters begin alternating between Nina, the mom who meets Simon and moves in with him after her husband Glen is declared dead in a boating accident and Maggie, Nina's 13 year old daughter, I definitely was a bit happier because I began to enjoy Maggie's chapters.

There wasn't enough here for me to enjoy, even as the second half of the book started to speed up. I felt like I was watching a Lifetime movie. I really don't think this was the book for me at this moment in time, but I can see this being a good summer read. If you are looking for a book that's a bit over=the=top and you're willing to suspend disbelief in a major way.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This was a fascinating read. The story goes along for awhile with two people meeting in what looks to be by chance and they seem so compatible. Her husband has disappeared and his wife has died but all is not as it seems. Maggie, Nina's daughter cannot warm up to Simon as well as Conner does, even Daisy the dog likes him better. Maybe Simon brings that on himself. As the story moves on it gets more 'hair raising' and the end is a heart pounding finish.

A domestic thriller that was slow to start but the suspense was built up in this page-turner of a mystery. Nina's husband goes missing and you slowly see how she rebuilt her life with Simon Fitch. Simon is the answer to Nina's dreams in her devastation of her husband's disappearance and all the unanswered questions that are looming. I loved the last 1/4 of book as the action sped up when the questions were answered. this would be a great thriller to read at the beach or at the pool this summer. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's for my review copy. All opinions are my own.

This book is an intensely twisted psychological thriller that will keep you coming back for more! Just when you think you figured it all out you turn the page and you are floored that you have no idea and start to figure it out all over again!!!

In the beginning it appears to be the typical love type thriller! Wife loses husband in a boat accident. Wife meets new guy, husband to be, who appears to be the perfect guy! He loves your kids and dog, has great job, knows how to take care of things and also knows everything about the wife to make her very happy! Then the wrenches get thrown in!!! The kids are not a fan of the new guy and your friends don’t care for him either!! Then the dark side of this wonderful guy comes out and you are glued to this book and suddenly it is not your typical love type thriller!!!!!

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves manipulative, jaw dropping, page turning type books!!!! The ending and epilogue of this book are not how I thought it would turn out!!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin Press for giving me an ARC of this wonderful book in exchange for an honest review!!!

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Nina Garrity's husband vanished from her life almost two years ago and as hard as it was, she has now moved on with her life. Nina and the new man in her life are moving in together along with her two children. Her son Connor seems to be developing a good relationship with Simon but his sister, Maggie, would rather he was the one that disappeared. She is the only one that believes her father is still alive and will one day return to his family. Maggie doesn't trust Simon and sets out to prove that he isn't the nice guy everyone thinks he is.
Simon is a teacher at a local school and has his own tragic story. His first wife left him and his second committed suicide, now he is ready to move on and start a life with Nina and her children.

This story starts off pretty slow but the author has this fantastic way of letting out small details that put together have you really considering just where you are being led. I did guess the plot from the very beginning but that in no way took away from the story. The unfolding of the plot is so subtle that each little reveal builds and builds until the truth smacks you in the face. The characters are all so real and fully realized that i could totally envision them.
I loved the author's first book Saving Meghan and i loved this one even more
Well written and an absolute pleasure to read!

Just because you love someone doesn't mean you know them.

Ok. First of all, go into this one without digging too much, the synopsis is enough. Its been a while since I've read a thriller as engaging as this one, I love the family drama, the new husband, the secrets, the lies, it all unfolds into this great story. It is a great fast read, highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. #NetGalley #TheNewHusband

When Nina Garrity’s husband disappears and is believed to be dead while on a fishing trip she discovers that he had previously lost his job, had an affair and lost all of their savings. The only course open to her and her two children is to move back with her parents. Then Simon enters her life. He is gentle, loving and bonds with her son Connor. Her daughter Maggie, however, is distrusting and sees another side of Simon that he hides from Nina and Connor.

Nina first met Simon when they worked on a project for the school where he is a teacher. Now he has shown up to return Daisy, their dog who had been missing. He offers to help the family out by cooking dinner for them and soon after he and Nina start dating. Now they have found a house together and Simon has proposed. At one time, Nina had been a social worker and has now decided to go back to work but Simon insists that he has enough money to support them. When she makes plans to meet up with her friends, there is always an excuse to make her cancel. It is Maggie who notices the dark looks when things do not go his way but Nina attributes her dislike to a refusal to believe that her father is not coming back.

While Simon knows everything about Nina, he is reluctant to discuss his past. Married twice before, his first wife left him and the second committed suicide. After consulting a therapist, Nina decides to both confront her husband’s mistress and look into Simon’s past. What she finds is a complete surprise. Maggie is also doing some digging and discovers that Simon has a life and home outside of their family that poses a danger to them all.

From the opening pages I was drawn into this book. Nina wants to believe in Simon and is afraid of making another mistake in her life, but Simon is too good to be true. Pure evil hides behind that benevolent personality. This story keeps you turning the pages and there is a twist that is totally unexpected. This book is highly recommended. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this book for my review.

When her husband Glen goes missing, Nina feels an abundance of emotions, but never expects to fall in love again. Enter Simon, the middle school social studies teacher that everyone loves, who finds her missing dog and embraces her and her family with open arms. As Nina and Simon explore a relationship that has then moving in together. with her 2 kids and dog, and navigating their relationship through a transition, her daughter Maggie continues to put up a fight against her mothers relationship with Simon. As the year progresses, Maggie’s suspicions grow, and Nina begins to question everything around her, including her husbands disappearance. As the novel unfolds, so do the familial relationships, the friendships, and the romance between Nina and Simon.

This was one amazing thriller, I've loved every book ive read by palmer and this one didn't dissappoint.

Told from multiple prespectives. A family torn apart by their fathers dissappearances. The mother has a new boyfriend and the daughter suddenly starts getting messages from her missing presumed dead father. Is the new man in there mother's life really who he daus here is " and what really happened to the father.

A really addictive page Turner that had my mouth hanging open twist after twist

Nina Garrity's life turned upside down after her husband, Glen, went missing. His boat turned up without him--bloody, with only their dog, Daisy, on it. Then she discovered he was having an affair and that he'd lost his job years ago, leaving them nearly broke. You couldn't blame Nina if she was hesitant to love or trust again. But when she meets Simon, a teacher at her daughter's school, she can't help but fall in love. He's kind, caring, and thoughtful. Everything she needs. Her son, Connor, loves him, but her daughter Maggie is wary. Still, Nina and her kids move in with Simon and she wants to move on. But before she can commit fully, she needs to make sure she isn't making a mistake again, as she did with Glen. As Nina ensures this, she may unravel some secrets she can never bury.

I will give it to this novel--it's a page-turner. I might not have really liked any of the characters (Daisy the dog exempted), but I certainly flew through the book. The narrative style wasn't exactly my favorite; it just felt off to me.

"There was, however, one truth Nina took from the terrible ordeal, an abstract notion that with time and rumination calcified into a harsh new understanding: just because you love someone doesn't mean you know them."


There is no one in this book that I felt the desire to root for, beyond Daisy and poor Maggie, Nina's thirteen-year-old daughter, who is bullied and neglected thanks to all that's going on. I'm sorry, but her clueless mom makes some terrible decisions. I wanted to shake her multiple times.

This book is crazy and honestly, a little too far-fetched for me at times. I love a book filled with twists and turns, but this one might take the cake. Especially since some of them seemed to lack any motivation or backup.

Still, it's a page-turner and a fast read. If you can suspend your disbelief more than I did, you'll probably really enjoy it.

The New Husband by D.J. Palmer is a fast-paced (albeit slow to start) domestic thriller about Nina, a woman whose husband mysteriously disappears while on a fishing trip. Two years later, she has found comfort with another man, Simon, who also lost his first spouse. Perfect in every way, the new husband is almost too good to be true, and soon, Nina discovers a more nefarious side to her beloved.

An intimate portrayal of emotional abuse, The New Husband is enthralling and eerie, twisty and riveting, with a sometimes sinister setting and complex characters. If you enjoy domestic suspense in which the characters are thrust into nightmare situations, this one is for you.

Nina has a new man in her life -- is he her savior or does he intend her harm? Nina's husband, Glen, was fishing and disappeared over 2 years ago and she's found out that he had deceived her. She's moved on now with Simon and they've moved in together. Nina's two children, 16-year-old Connor and 13-year-old Maggie Garrity have mixed feelings about Simon and Maggie is especially distrustful and suspicious. There's a dog. Lots of angst and high level of predictable bad behavior. NO SPOILERS.

I was quite disappointed that this psychological drama did not meet my expectations nor did it fulfil the premise that made me select it to read in the first place. I'm not sure how this title fits with the book either. The book has several narrators and I really disliked the parts that were from Maggie's point of view. I wasn't expecting this to be so much from a teenager's perspective and I didn't like her character at all, nor that of Nina. I see that other reviewers have a different reaction and so I'll just leave it here -- not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-book ARC to read and review.

I started the book and almost stopped just before halfway, was moving slowly for me. Well! Am I glad I didn't right around halfway the plot took a turn, one I would never had guessed and knocked my socks off! I was waiting for the suspense and boy did it pick up. Such a good read, totally blew me away!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3266166549

This book is not written well. I could not like any of the characters even the dog was disappointing but at least he was redeemed in the end. I couldn't find any relationship to the way normal people would live. No person would wait a year and a half to think about getting a job when they were broke. That is just one example. The book starts slow, and has chapters devoted to the point of view of different characters. By midway I was getting tired of the adolescent Maggie's whining and her mother, Nina's over the top understanding of Maggie while dismissing her daughter's concerns. True the action ramps up toward the end but it is still unbelievable. I cannot recommend this book.

Another domestic thriller, and unfortunately, this one didn't compete. While the book started off interesting, it failed to keep my attention, and I quickly became bored. I found the plot pretty basic and easy to follow - there were no major twists that you didn't see coming a mile away. The language: both prose and dialogue were a bit too flowery (as if the author had gone to work with a thesaurus before publication), and ultimately detracted from the thriller-ness of the plot. I really wanted to like this one - it was one of my most-anticipated reads, but unfortunately it fell short. If you're a fan of domestic thrillers, though, and can't get enough, try it!

A new husband who treats you like a queen and knows everything you like. What is there to worry about?

A year and a half after Nina’s husband mysteriously disappears, she starts dating Simon, a teacher at her daughter’s school. She gets swept up by his loving attention to details that she so craves dismissing her daughter’s constant rage about the relationship. Then they move in together but things don’t improve.
Although this book was a bit slow in the beginning, it did pick up the pace and had me talking to the book as if the characters could actually hear me. Lol.

I liked the short chapters and the change in perspectives but wished they were labeled.
I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press, the Author and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

When Glen Garrity goes missing, secrets come to light. Was he dead, or did he just disappear? Three months later ... Simon, a clean cut middle school teacher comes to rescue Nina and her family, but at what cost? Even with a slow start Palmer has a way of keeping the reader on the edge of their seat. Mind bending and creepy, this book was a great read!

The New Husband kept me on my toes from beginning to end. For some reason I never trusted Simon, perhaps because of the title? Nina was a woman doing her best under the circumstances. The real star was Maggie. I loved every stubborn bone in her body. From the way she dealt with bullies and befriended Ben to her insistence that her father was alive. I had to keep reminding myself that she was in middle school! All in all, a great twisty read.