Member Reviews
I've been trying to put my finger on the right word for this writing style. Thus far, the best I've come up with is "placid."
Oh my gosh! This book was amazing! It was a page turner from the get go! I loved how every time you thought the family was going to find out the crazy new soon to be husband was going to be found out he wasn’t! I would want to scream at the book like ppl!!! Open your eyes!! He’s crazy! Come on! I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars! I can’t wait for the next book! It was a very edge of your seat heart pumping good!
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book for my honest review. This started out a little slow for me and I almost put it down. I kept reading, thinking I know where this is going but nope, I was wrong so of course I had to keep going. A twist through me completely off base in the middle of the book. So yes, I kept reading! Without giving too much away, Simon is not who he thinks he is! A pretty good book and it kept me glued to the pages till the end. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
D.J. Palmer does it again! Fantastic read.
Things are not what they seem.
Kept me guessing for a long time.
While the ending seemed a bit rushed, getting there I found myself holding my breath.
Would definitely recommend!
Thanks so much for the opportunity to read before publication.
Tried to read it. If was so formulaic and repetitive I just couldn’t get into it.
At first I thought it was going to be a story about the missing husband, but it appeared to be about the future husband.
Anyway I got bored.
The New Husband, by D.J. Palmer was a great psychological thriller. There were parts of the book where I was frightened and didn’t want to go to the next page out of fear, but also couldn’t wait to continue reading to find our what happens. It was definitely twisty!
There were a few things that didn’t mesh so well with me. The epilogue felt a bit forced and like it didn’t exactly fit. I was hoping for more of a seamless wrap up, but this was a little choppy and left a lot to be desired after a great surprise ending. I also took issue with Nina’s character. She seemed a little bit desperate and too much of a pushover for my liking, but perhaps that’s the way her character needed to be written.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.
An interesting story. I liked the main character Nina and her daughter Maggie a lot. D.J. Palmer’s writing has a way of drawing you in and holding your attention.
This book was reminiscent of other books/movies I have read/seen, but it was still quite the thrill ride. I was anxious to get to the end to see how everything panned out. If you're looking for a psychological thriller, you won't be disappointed with this one.
Nina’s husband Glen has mysteriously disappeared and is presumed dead (which we learn in the prologue to this “I couldn’t put it down” book) when, two years later, we meet her and Simon, the man with whom she has bought a house, and her children Connor, who’s about 15, and Maggie, who’s about 12. While Connor enthusiastically welcomes Simon to the family, Maggie is downright antagonistic.
Simon teaches at the middle school Maggie attends, and seems to have a lot more money than one would expect from a teacher’s salary, and he’s adamant that Nina not return to her work as a social worker, which she does despite his objections. She also, unbeknownst to Simon, enters therapy.
Maggie is especially miserable, having been shunned for no particular reason by the “cool kids” she used to hang out with, but perks up when Ben, a sweet and brilliant guy on the autism spectrum befriends her. Things just kind of go on relatively okay for a while, until strange things start happening. Simon cuts Nina off from her friends, claiming he’s sick. He wants her to stop working, claiming that Maggie needs her at home. He’s very elusive about his first two wives, one of whom he claims committed suicide.
And then Maggie starts getting texts, even a phone call or two, from her dad. And the story gets very dark and dangerous until it reaches an exciting climax at the end.
I enjoyed this book, which I received as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley. It’s well written, the characters, including Daisy the dog, seem real and relatable (except Simon, who truly has a mind so twisted it’s hard to imagine where the author found the internal fortitude to create such a sick and nasty villain), and the suspense builds at a perfect pace. I’d like to read more by this writer.
Fun, twisty, chilling and extremely creepy read! I was mentally screaming ‘look out’ from about page seven. Nina, her daughter Maggie and son Connor are picking up the pieces after Glen, the husband/father disappears. Into their lives comes sweet Simon, a knight in shinning armour. Hmmm. We know about these characters and it goes from bad to worse. Thoroughly enjoyable read, makes you put everything else on hold while you say, okay one more page. Well paced and recommended
Excellent thriller that you won't want to put down. You will feel so many emotions! Character development is strong
From the moment I began reading "The New Husband" it felt familiar. Somehow I had read this book or met these characters before, but that couldn't be true as this book has not yet been published. As I went along, Simon felt much like the baddie in many other "thrillers", Nina seemed like the about-to-become-gaslighted wife, and both clueless Connor or suspicious Maggie, the teen age children (even the dog, Daisy) were known to me from previous novels.
At a little more than half-way through I skipped to the end to prove to myself that my suspicions were right. And they were. Here, less than sadly, I gave up. Perhaps those with more patience or less reading experience would enjoy this book. Not I, I regret to report. Oh, and to the editor: Is Laura's last name Abel or Able?. Both spellings appear and here again in the role of Maggie's bully, carelessness..
This book kept me in suspense from beginning to end. Question after question regarding the disappearance of Glenn kept me completely immersed in this book. Nina and Glen were married with two children when he disappeared. After some time, Nina falls in love with Simon, a teacher at the children's school. Strange things start happening which leave Nina feeling concerned. The twists and turns in this book will keep you fascinated!
It took a while for me to become involved in this novel, but once I realized what was going on I just kept reading g until I finished!
Lots of psychology, lots of suspense!
I don’t want to give it away.
Excellent story!
This book is a thriller with twists and turns all throughout. Nina's husband Glen fails to return home after a fishing trip. She and their two children are forced to move forward without answers as to what happened to him. Nearly two years later, they are moving in with Simon, Nina's (nearly) fiance. Nina is thankful for Simon's place in her life, but her daughter wants nothing to do with him. Emotions run high as the story unravels, and you'll keep turning the pages trying to figure everything out.
I'm so sorry I really wanted to love this book but the writing drove me nuts. It felt very verbose and clumsy to me. I know that not every author speaks to every reader so I hope that I am the minority not the majority.
thanks for the ARC. I really wish i could give half stars as many books are a 3.5 or 4.5 for me, so this was a 3.5. quick read, slightly different twist than i was expecting, most of the characters were too black or white for me, would have loved more shading, more depth. the question kept being raised can you ever know anyone, can you ever trust anyone. the main character was a little too naive given she was a social worker and what she was experiencing was very basic to say the least controlling behavior from the new man in her life and she should have recognized the signs at least from her training and the warnings from her friends and daughters. but in due time, things become clear
Read The New Husband in two days. At times it reminded me of the podcast/movie Dirty John. Almost to the point I was going to stop reading.
While only certain elements are the same, the other plot points are totally different, which I was thankful for.
It had just enough description, just enough action, that it never got bogged down and read very quickly.
Highly recommend.
I really liked this book but I almost flounced it. The beginning was a tad slow but I'm glad i kept reading.
Well, I don't quite know exactly what to make of this book. It was very slow, like with nothing happened, for almost the entire first half of the story, but I kept reading because of all the raving reviews, including a couple reviewers whose judgment I trust. But boy was it painfully slow. Then, finally, the pace picked up. There was however, nothing I hadn't read in other books. I still don't understand Glen's story or Simon's plan at the end of the book. But for the heart-pounding moments—literally—I'll recommend this book to thriller lovers. I'm sure it'll work marvel as a movie.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.