What a great thriller. This murder mystery twists and turns on every page and I kept changing my mind on what had happened. The two women with very different stories one in a loveless marriage and one in a very abusive relationship and the story of how they come together and what transpires is the perfect story for a movie adaption in the future I think.

What a great read from this author, another hit which was very well written with well developed characters, I particularly loved Dan who always seems to enjoy his job.

I found this book a great page turner which held my interest throughout and I can most definitely recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This book was suspenseful, engaging and hard to put down. I enjoyed the characters and the story quite a bit. Any fan of thrillers will enjoy this!

Beth is leaving her husband for another man, and cath is leaving her abusive partner. When someone ends up dead, Detective Dan Riley investigates. This was somewhat predictable and mostly underwhelming. I absolutely hated some of the characters (ones that you are obviously suppoesd to hate but still), and nothing but bad happens to most of the characters I did like. I picked this up not realizing it was part of a series. It does work as a standalone, and while there was nothing particularly wrong with it, I have no desire to search out further books in the series. 3 stars.

Wow a terrific tense chilling thriller,a book that kept me up late into the night.As I turned the pages I kept trying to figure out the story Ibcouldnt.Highly recommend this story this author.#netgalley#bookoutture

While I did somewhat enjoy reading this, I did not like the characters at all.

The story itself was intriguing but overall quite predictable. The actual meeting of two of the main characters does not happen until near the end of the book, which means there is a very, very long build up towards the main events.

If your looking for an outstanding read that will keep you gripped, this is it. Fantastic plot which is cleverly weaved into a believable and well written story. I enjoyed the main characters and cant wait to read more by this author.
Well worth 5 stars

This was an excellent read. I've only read one other by this author so will look out for her books in the future. It was cleverly done.

This psychological thriller with murders aplenty had me reading all night once again in my book fuelled addiction to know exactly what had happened.
The story revolves around two female characters mostly, Beth in her big house living with wealthy businessman and husband Evan Lawler, and Cath at the other end of the social class spectrum, desperate to survive and escape life with Saul, a violent drug addict.
Both women are the subject of abuse and in trying to free themselves from the shackles of extremely unhealthy and toxic relationships the two women meet by chance and, having found out so much about her vanilla husband, Beth masterminds a cunning plan to exact revenge.
Throw in a missing housekeeper/Nanny Marta, which starts the whole chain of catastrophic events off, and enter dashing Dan Riley the DI who does not rest until the truth, (or most of it) is uncovered - even though he risks ending his own career by exposing corruption within the police force - and you have a gripping and compelling read for all fans of this genre of book.
The characters are well written and either likeable or not, depending whether they are the good guys or the 'baddies' and the details about Dan's personal life make him a well rounded figure and someone you automatically want to 'save the day.' I enjoyed the professional relationship between the DI and his partner DS Lucy Davis and had to chuckle over another police pairing Baylis & Harding as that is one of my favourite soaps!!
I definitely recommend this read and thank Netgalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me to read in advance in exchange for this review.

Oh I loved this!!! This couldn’t have been more up my street if it was my next door neighbour!
I read this in one sitting - feeling resentful when actual real life such as food/family/laundry got in the way.
A missing housekeeper is how the story starts and from then it is just a rollercoaster of mammoth proportion! There is some really nasty stuff goes on in this book, and I am literally chomping at the bit for the next one! Outstanding, faultless and well written - if it’s not on your shelf yet - sort that out!

Gripped from the very beginning to the end. I just have to say...... Just go read it and you will see I'm right!! Thank you netgalley get again for another amazing arc.

I didn't know this was the third book in a series and it was a pretty strong stand alone as there only seemed to be a few things I was lost over from not reading the others.

Lost a star because the ending was somewhat predictable, it was one of two endings I'd guessed at, also for calling DC's Bayliss and Harding (come on!) and some of the parts of Beth's life didn't add up with her upper-class life. It had the feeling of the writer writing what she didn't know and just googled 'nice jewellery' and went with the top Google answers.

However, I read the book in a day, it was an easy strong read and none of the character's annoyed me or changed during the book to fit the plotline. Their 'journey' made sense.

Thank you to Netgallery for an early copy!

Firstly I have really enjoyed Detective Dan Riley's last two adventures in Anna Lou's previous novels and this was no different.

Dan Riley its a really solid and likeable character and it was good to see his story arc develop further inn this book.

It's not all about Dan though,he has a crime to solve and in this case it's the link between the disappearance of a Norwegian Nanny followed by the virtual murder of her boss.

Dan suspects the wife Beth,she has motive but she also has an absolutely solid alibi. Dan will need all his detective powers to solve this one of will it be his first unsolved case?

Loved this book , can't wait for the next one 😀

Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to review this book,this is my honest opinion.

The Stranger's Wife by Anna-Lou Weatherley is the third book of a series featuring Detective Dan Riley but, in my opinion, it can be easily read as a standalone novel. The storyline focuses less on Detective Riley than on the parallel narratives of Beth and Cath, two women of very different circumstances whose lives will collide in ways that no one could possibly anticipate.

Beth is a woman of means who decides to leave her husband on the very day she discovers that her nanny and friend, Marta, has gone missing. Cath is the victim of domestic abuse so horrific that the unthinkable will happen. Each woman is desperate for a fresh start but must first deal with a partner who will do anything to prevent that from happening. That is, until a chance meeting on a train changes everything.

This is a compelling, unique read, and the shifting storylines kept me fully invested throughout. I will be adding the first two books of this series to my TBR.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

Despite my best efforts, once in a while I end up with a book that (unbeknownst to me) is part of a series. Such was the case with The Stranger's Wife. Neither the book summary nor the cover gives any indication of it, but this is the third book in the Detective Dan Riley series. I wish I'd known that before I started reading it. Even though this book seems to have more of a standalone feel, I still know things I wouldn't have known if I'd read the previous books first—which is precisely why I try to avoid reading a series out of order.

That said... how did it affect my reading experience?

Luckily, the story focuses on Beth and Cath, with the detective and his colleagues playing relatively minor roles. I'm sure this is why the blurb makes no mention of anyone but them. It's the complete opposite of the crime thrillers I typically read, which occasionally made me wonder where the story would lead. The suspense centered in other factors that, typically, the reader wouldn't be privy to, though the possibilities were limited.

Beth and Cath were fascinating characters. Though their lives were vastly different, both woman are unlucky in love, married to men who are anything but the great guys they appeared to be when they first met. Instead, the women were given emotional or physical abuse, and they both want out. Neither one of them will be allowed to simply walk away, however, so the question is: how will they break free?

The way that question was answered didn't surprise me, because something I read in the book reminded me of... something. I won't say what, because it would likely put potential readers onto the same line of thought I had. Suffice to say that this thought led me directly where things were going, and the thing that happened wasn't the big surprise it might have been... which was a bummer, because it would've been nice to be surprised.

That's where Detective Dan elbowed his way into the spotlight, and saved this reader from total disappointment. His story shined brighter from here on out, and I became most intrigued with how he was going to work things out, despite a troubling source of interference.

As the end neared in this unorthodox thriller, there was a matter I felt warranted a single resolution, and no other outcome have felt appropriate. There was some tension surrounding it, and I wasn't 100% certain it would go the way I hoped or not... but it did, and the revelation came in a most fitting manner. Well done!

One thing remained a constant: I thoroughly appreciated Weatherley's writing ability throughout the book. All the characters—major, minor, or otherwise—remained true to themselves at all times. They each had a distinctive voice, and if I ever inadvertently missed who was speaking at any given time, I was never confused precisely because of that distinctiveness. These aren't little things, they are big, important things that change your perception of a book when it's done poorly. Equally well done were the disparate living accommodations of Beth and Cath. It drove home the inequalities the women faced materially, illustrating beautifully that any woman, regardless of means, can find herself in an abusive relationship—a crucial fact that, it seems, is not always understood.

Despite some misgivings along the way, if this book convinced me of anything, it's that I would enjoy reading more about Detective Dan Riley. While it's true that I know a couple of things that are spoilers about this character's personal life, I feel absolutely confident that I can read the previous books in this series with full enjoyment. Nothing whatsoever is mentioned in this book about crimes he investigated in the previous titles, so it all remains a mystery. Having just peaked at the blurbs for Black Heart and The Couple on Cedar Close , I'm more than a little intrigued to find out what happens in these books!

Based on the strength of Weatherley's writing, as well as the fact that this book can be read as a standalone novel despite being part of a series, I'm bumping my initial rating of three stars up to four stars.

I received an advance reading copy of this book courtesy of Bookouture via Netgalley.

absolutely loved this novel, as I did the same by this amazing author. She weaves a twisted net and the reader immediately gets wrapped up in it. Can’t recommend it enough!

This was such a captivating and heartbreaking story. I totally adored it from the beginning till the end.

First of all Dan Riley is a gem. You just have to love him the way he goes about the investigation and how he remains true to himself. No way that will he be manipulated. Justice is what he is after, even when his future could be on the line.

We meet Beth and Cath. For a very long time you have not the slightest idea how their stories will come together. But fear not, they will and from that moment on, their lives are about to change.

The author certainly knows how to describe emotions. I felt the pain, fear and frustration both women went through. How hard must it be when you are standing with your back against the wall and there is nothing you can do about it, because you are afraid or don't have enough money. And then there is Karma with capital K ...

I was sucked into the story and I kept on turning the pages, eager to find out what would be coming next. A brilliant story, without a doubt. 5 stars.

Thank you, Anna-Lou Weatherley and Bookouture

When I started this book, I didn't realize it's the third in a series featuring Detective Dan Riley. And by the time I finished, I was bummed that I haven't read the other two. That's not because this one doesn't stand alone - it does just fine on that score, thank the author very much - but rather because I really like the character. Oh well - now I'm looking forward to reading the next one.

The story follows two abused women; Beth's suffering is largely psychological, bestowed by her cold, uncaring but wealthy husband and father of their young daughter. For love, she turns to an affair with a man who isn't shy about showing affection to her or her daughter. Catherine's abuse is both psychological and physical, the latter often turning so violent that she ends up in the hospital. In part because her husband threatens to kill her if she leaves - and in part because she has no clue what she would do even if she did - she stays in the marriage but fears the worst.

Ultimately, Beth tells her husband Evan that she's found a new love and wants a divorce; he shows little emotion even then, but there's a not-so-thinly-veiled threat that he'll use his money and power to discredit Beth and gain custody of their daughter (at the very least). Riley gets involved early on when the couple's nanny and Beth's dear friend Marta goes missing and Beth calls in the police.

Marta's disappearance remains a mystery that stymies the police, but then "things" happen to other key characters in both women's worlds that require further police investigation. The "aha" moment, if you will, comes when Beth and Catherine actually meet; at that point it's clear (or at least it was to me) how the story would progress. The only question is specifically how it will end for the two women. Of course, I won't divulge anything except to say there are a couple of twists.

Although a few parts seemed a bit repetitive and I've read variations on this plot before, overall this is an easy-to-read, fast-paced and attention-holding book. In fact, I was grateful for the holiday lull in regular TV programming that allowed me to finish the remaining quarter without stopping - simply because I couldn't wait to get to the end. Well done, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

Thank you Anna-Lou Weatherley for The Strangers Wife. When I picked this up I was starting to think I was having a reading slump as my previous 2 kindle reads had not been great and my current audio book isn't grabbing me either. The Strangers Wife has broken the drought in a big way - fantastic and addictive! I would have read this a lot quicker if it hadn't been for Christmas and a lot less reading on my part. But my goodness, this book is good!!

While this is book 3 to feature Dan Riley it can absolutely be read as a stand alone. Although in saying that, you will want to read the previous 2 books after reading this - I have read them all and really enjoyed them. This is not a series where the life of the police officers are very closely followed. There is a story there and we do have some idea of what is happening - and Dan is in a very tricky situation - but the main story is the case.

A story of 2 women and their husbands. Cath is a woman who is being physically abused by her husband and is struggling to get away from him. Beth on the other hand is having an affair and decided to leave her husband - on the day that her nanny goes missing. The 2 women have very different loves, but when they meet they can see each other in themselves. I won't spoil the story for you but it is clever and addictive and you will have to read it for yourself.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.

Thank you Bookouture and Net Galley for an early copy of The Stranger’s Wife. I really enjoyed this book, a little far-fetched between the two main characters but kept my interest up. I loved the ending! Very fast paced, a good read.