I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion. Wowza!!!! I could not put this book down. It was SO good. I highly recommend you read this ASAP!

This psychological, family thriller will take you on a ride! It started off slow but built up quickly and it was impossible to put down once I started heading into the chaos!

“Just because you love someone doesn’t mean you know them”
The New Husband is paced and plotted pretty well. The beginning was laid out well. When I got to about the halfway mark of the book, the story really got moving. I couldn’t stop reading. It got twisted, the danger level rose, it was intense. All the characters were well defined but the character of the 13 year old daughter Maggie and her friend Ben really shined.

Nina's husband disappears without a trace while fishing one day. He is presumed dead by those in his life and his wife Nina meets a man named Simon, a teacher at the local school, and falls in love with him. But as time goes on, Nina starts to suspect something is odd about the way Simon seems to want to control her. Nina's daughter, Maggie is also extremely perceptive and doesn't like Simon from the get-go. This story has a fantastic plot and excellent characters. It was exciting, however, in my opinion, it ran a bit on the long side and dragged on a bit. There were many parts where the characters uncover more about Simon and his past which were very exciting. Overall, this book kept me engaged because I wanted to find out the real story behind Glen's disappearance but I wish the book had wrapped up a bit faster.

Thank you to Netgalley, D.J. Palmer, and St. Martin's Press for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Do you actually really know someone?
Nina Garrity thought she knew the man she married, her best friend, her husband until she shockingly learned he was leading a double life with another woman. Glen is missing, he was on a fishing boat with his buddies when something happened. Almost 2 years later Nina meets a man, falls in love again and has high hopes for starting her life over, her daughter and friends are worried though so Nina decides to follow through on her friends suspicions before she can move forward.

Wow! This book was so good, from the first page to the last, D.J.Palmer took me on a suspenseful crazy ride I didn’t want to slow down! Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity 4.5 stars.

The New Husband by DJ Palmer is quite the thriller! It is terrifying and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Nina’s husband, Glen, has disappeared, and they think he drowned while fishing. Nina also discovers Glen's secrets. Nina meets Simon and they become close and move in together; he is well liked by her son but her daughter strongly dislikes him. So many twists unravel after this point.

I heard a lot about this book and was grateful when Netgalley provided it in return for honest feedback. This book is a thriller with lots of twists and turns. The author draws you in and you have a feeling for the characters and then all of a sudden it changes. I enjoyed reading this book and would read others by the this author.

This story is a prime example of gaslighting in a relationship. However, I didn't feel like it was a unique story - it was quite ordinary. I feel like I've read a hundred of these stories in the past few years. Also, it is important to note that this is definitely more of a family drama than a fast paced thriller.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

will say this book did take me some time to get into it. This book is told from the different character view points, so if your not one that likes different narrators this book may not be for you. There is no indication as to who is narrating the chapter, as you read the first paragraphs you have to figure it out. It’s pretty easy to figure out except for the 2nd or 3rd paragraph when it switches for the first time from Nina (the mother) to her daughter Maggie. I would have liked a better flow between each point of view. It takes me to get to about half way through the book till I actually start really getting into the book. It covers the dynamic between new relationships, step-parents, the loss of a parent, domestic abuse, and bullying. I will say I love how Nina is portrayed and how she kept to her guns. A mother knows her child and a woman should always know herself best. There are some topics that might be trigger points for some: suicide, domestic violence- both verbal and physical, and bullying.

I rate this book 3 out of 5 hearts.

This book is a page turner for sure. It’s a tad longer than I would have preferred. Starts very slowly but picks up pace later. The characters are well created and you can understand where they are coming from. There are 2 things that didn’t sit well with me about Nina were how quickly she decided to move on despite knowing that she wasn’t really ready and how she was willing to ignore the many red flags she saw about Simon. Frankly I don’t understand why she fell for Simon in the first place. The writing is engaging and enjoyable. The author creates enough creepiness all around so your instincts are giving you warning bells about something being off with Simon. In the book we have 2 narrators one is Maggie and the other is Gail. Would have been a good idea to indicate on the chapter tile who the narration was from. Overall the plot is interesting and engaging and the writing style is easy to read.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for a free copy for an honest review. I enjoyed this book very much and found it hard to put down. It is a fast-paced suspenseful thriller with unique characters and lots of twists I did not see coming. Nina Garrity’s husband, Glen, is missing in a fishing boat accident. 17 months later Nina meets Simon, falls in love and plans to marry Simon but something just does not feel right. Her daughter, Maggie, keeps warning her but Nina doesn’t listen until it’s too late and their lives are in jeopardy. I’m looking forward to reading another novel by Palmer as I like his writing style. Recommended!

This was a fantastic book. Very well written. Thought I had figured out some aspects. The twist is a surprise you won't see coming. Thank you #TheNewHusband#NetGalley.

I am going to be in the minority for this review, but I wasn’t a fan of The New Husband. I love psychological thrillers. Honestly, I can’t read enough of them. While The New Husband hit all the markers for what I like in psychological thrillers, it fell flat.

The New Husband’s plotline was medium paced. The author did attempt to ramp up the speed at the end, but it didn’t quite get there. There was a significant amount of lag towards the end of the book. The author did try to get the book back on track, but it didn’t quite get there. There weren’t dropped storylines or characters.

Except for Maggie and Ben, I found the characters in The New Husband fell flat. I had no connection with Nina or Simon. Their interactions annoyed me. Nina came across as too needy and desperate to keep her man. I mean, that whole hair cutting scene and the follow up when she went to get it touched up, made me roll my eyes. Simon and Maggie’s interactions were scary, but what scared me more was Nina’s total disregard for what Maggie was telling her. I wanted to reach in the book and tell Nina that no man should come before her kid. But, then again, Nina did learn that the hard way.

I do wish that the author labeled who the chapters belonged to. The first time that I read Maggie’s chapters (from her POV), I was confused. I had no idea that it was Maggie until I reread the first few paragraphs in that chapter. I don’t particularly appreciate having to do that.

With my complaining about the characters, I did think that the thriller angle of the book was well written. It also kept this book from being a lower rating than what it was. The author did keep me guessing about Simon and his intentions. She also kept me guessing about Glen.

There was a massive twist in Glen’s plotline that made me drop my jaw and say “No way” when I read it. Of course, there was a smaller twist towards the end of the book, but it didn’t pack the punch that the first one did.

The storyline with Nina looking into Simon’s past was fascinating. I liked seeing a pattern emerge from what she found out. I also liked how the author connected Simon’s history to the future.

The end of The New Husband was interesting. I say interesting because of who wrote it and to where it was written. I liked the update, but I can’t say that it surprised me.

Another book that makes you very cautious about getting involved with any man... especially if there are a lot of red flags that you ignore. Thankfully for Nina, her daughter Maggie sees something different in her mom's new love interest Simon and doesn't trust him.

Nina's husband Glen disappears and is assumed dead, although the trail quickly becomes stale. Nina is sent some anonymous texts that her husband was cheating on her and appeared to be living a double life that Nina never knew about. As Nina moves on with her life, Simon appears and quickly assumes the role of 'husband' and father, being able to provide for Nina and her family. Nina's daughter Maggie doesn't like Simon from the beginning and makes her dislike clear from the start. Nina just interprets Maggie's dislike for her daughter's love for Glen since she was a big daddy's girl. We soon see that this 'new husband' is not all that he seems... crazy, creepy, and very disturbing!

This was definitely a thriller with some twists that kept you guessing about how everything would end. The relationships between some of these characters was very well done and makes you root for the underdogs - Maggie and Ben were the cutest.

CAMPY

The New Husband is an over-the-top psychological thriller about a woman who finds love with a man who may or may not be a psychopath.

Nina, a single mother of two, has found love again. After her husband mysteriously disappeared without a trace a year and a half ago, she began dating Simon Fitch, a teacher at her daughter, Maggie’s middle school. Nina’s friends and Maggie have qualms about Simon, but she decides to embrace love and move in with him. Nina thinks she has found the man of her dreams but is Simon too good to be true? Is he hiding deep, dark secrets or is he really the man he seems to be?

Reading this book was like watching a Lifetime movie--it was a trainwreck that I couldn’t look away from. The first half moves slowly and the narrative makes one question whether or not Simon is simply a good partner or a crazy, controlling a**hole. In the second half of the book, a huge twist is revealed that provoked me to say out loud, “this is really f*cking stupid!” I tried to explain to a friend what was going on in this book and could barely get the words out because I was laughing so hard. It’s not meant to be funny, but it’s kind of hard not to laugh at the stupidity.

I had to decide whether or not to keep on reading. I wanted to give up and close this book, but I decided to turn off the critical side of my brain and see if it could coast on pure entertainment value. Sadly, I was never able to give in and have fun with it the way I wanted. Part of my issue was the writing, the other was the plot. I did enjoy reading Maggie's perspective. Ben, Maggie's best friend, is charming and Daisy the dog is awesome! But the rest of the book? Not so much. Too much eye-rolling and ridiculousness ruined this one for me.

This book has received many 4 and 5-star reviews. I am very much in the minority with my feelings, so please don't let my review stop you from reading this book!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I think anybody who likes mystery books about twisted stories should give this one a try. The New Husband is one of those page turners that keeps you thinking that you know what's going to happen next, but you really don't. I was shocked about some of the story characters in this book which kept me entertained all the way through. The author, D.J. Palmer did a fabulous job of writing a thriller story which kept reading well through the night!#The New Husband#NetGalley

*Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an e-copy for free in exchange for my honest opinion/review.

Starts Slow Then Gets Explosive. This is one of those that is a very slow burn at first - things maybe feel a bit off, and there is more of a sense that a particular character is pretty dark without any real evidence at first. Then just before the 50% mark, the game changes completely and we spend the rest of the book waiting for various characters to catch up to what the readers now know. Strong use of an Autistic character in that he is shown to be perfectly "normal", just Autistic. The one jarring part in at least the ARC copy I read (which could very easily be fixed before publication, so if it is fixed in your version, just ignore this comment) is that the perspective shifts at random chapter beginnings can be a bit jarring and perhaps a label could be used to better identify what is happening. (Note that the chapter is from whatever singular perspective, but the character that may be narrating a given chapter can and does change.) Ultimately everything builds to an explosive yet satisfying ending. Very much recommended.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me. I had to DNF at 30%. The writing was just a bit too clunky for me, and I realized I wasn’t following along with the story as well as I should be. I will keep this one and try it again in the future to see if my opinion changes.

Wow , What a great story to read. I enjoyed the book very much, as I read the story that was unfolding I wondered if her Mother would ever catch on to what was happening Hard to believe her brother always thinking Simon was a good guy,

I had a difficult time with this book. I was very excited to receive a copy (thank you, DJ Palmer, netgalley, and St. Martin’s Press. I appreciate you.) but I had a hard time staying involved with the story.

I enjoyed the story line and I do believe the ideas behind this book were great. Some scenes were intense, the author captured the teenage angst of Maggie very well (I could see her eyes rolling and hear the sighs of disgust), and the slow process of a woman being mentally and psychologically abused without her realizing it was also powerful and believable.

Unfortunately, that is where I must draw the line with positivity in this book. I don’t think the story was developed enough, because a lot of situations seemed unbelievable to me. The writing in this story felt choppy. I was also extremely frustrated with Nina and how she just brushed off every bad thing that Maggie told her she felt toward Simon. (Maybe that is a positive thing for character development, as Nina was also a very plain-Jane character which made her an easy target for Simon to manipulate. But as a mother, I cannot fathom not looking into any bad feeling or situation my children brought to my attention.)

Overall, I had higher expectations for this book and it unfortunately didn’t live up to them for me. But I would still recommend this book to anyone who enjoys thriller/suspense novels. 3 stars