I love this book! There are two main characters and the story is told from both perspectives. Caroline and Sophia grew up together and have stayed in touch by email for twenty five years. Sophia is at a crossroads in her life so when Caroline invited her for a visit she decides to go. On arrival she meets Dominic and Lucy, Carolines husband and daughter. Lucy is mute and Caroline explains this by saying it was caused by the recent move from Hong Kong to London. It doesn't take Sophia long to realize that something is not quite right.
The thing I liked best about this book was its unpredictability. There are lots of twists along the way with the ending being the biggest twist of all. Anyone who likes this genre will really enjoy this book!

Thanks Net Galley for allowing me to read this amazing book.

Sophie’s BFF from grade school, Caroline, invites Sophie to come for a visit out at their very grand estate, high on the rocky cliffs overlooking the sea. Even though Sophie and Caroline haven’t seen one another for maybe 20 years, they’ve managed to stay close through their correspondence. But when Sophie shows up, Caroline is thrown off---and frankly, is a terrible hostess to her supposed lifelong friend. Lots of twists and turns in this book, some that never quite added up. Even starting with the misleading title (was there really more than one wife?), this was just a big miss for me.

Special Note: Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

A page-turning thriller with a satisfying ending, devoured in one sitting.


The plot of this book really got me excited as I love books set in isolated places under mysterious circumstances. The book is told from the perspective of two childhood friends Sophie and Caroline who haven't seen each other in the past 25 years but remain in occasional contact through emails. However, when Sophie needs a break and a place to live after her parents' death she accepts Caroline's invitation to visit her.

Upon her arrival, she soon realises that things are anything but ordinary at her friend's place, both Caroline and her husband spend too much time away from home, and their daughter who doesn't speak looks a little uncared for and afraid. As Sophie starts to discover the secrets buried in this isolated house by the sea, she knows that danger lies close but it's Lucy, who she must protect at all cost.

The author did a wonderful job at creating a dark and almost creepy environment adding to the tension of the story. Though a bit descriptive at places and a predictable storyline, the book grabbed my attention from the start until the very last page, finishing the story with a clever and satisfying ending. Exploring a wide variety of topics from lies to death, loss and deception this domestic suspense meets psychological thriller offers an entertaining and enjoyable reading experience.

Overall 4 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book I've read by this author, and it didn't disappoint me at all. I really enjoyed reading this book. It hooked me from the beginning and didn't let go until the very end!

Really good thriller. This story was slow to start but once it started to gain momentum I was hooked. Great characters and a good plot kept me guessing what was happening right up to the end. I did not guess the final twist at all and I thought the whole story was well written.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This book started off very slowly and I wasn't sure where the story would go. But after about half way through, I just couldn't put it down. I am not usually a domestic thriller fan, but this one might just change my mind. I have to say that the way the author wrote the story was ingenious as it was written in a way that I never could have guessed the first twist, let alone the second twist. This is definitely what I would call a gripping suspenseful read and highly recommend it. Don't let the slow start deter you, it is definitely worth the wait, if you will, to get to the interesting and suspenseful parts.

A very very slow start that didn’t seem to lend much to the story... but once it got going in the second half of the book, it became very compelling and unsettling. It was clear that all was not what it seemed but this didn’t really make sense with different threads that didn’t contribute much to the story. The later chapters were much stronger and told a better tale. After I’d finished, I had an email to say the earlier chapters had been edited in line with feedback - I’m sure this will make for a stronger book.

Sophie and Caroline haven't seen one another in 25 years so Sophie is very excited to see Caroline, meet her husband Dom, and her little daughter Lucy. What she finds when she arrives at Caroline's home is not what she expected- not at all. Stick with this one. It would have benefitted from some editing in the first several chapters to tighten things up and move the story along but once it does go, it's an very good one. No spoilers as to why Sophie doesn't speak or what Dom's issues are. It's quite atmospheric. Thanks to Nergalley for the ARC. A good read.

The First Wife by Jill Childs 4*

Sophie, in her mid-thirties, feels uprooted when her ailing, aged father dies a few years after her mother's passing. So, the email from her childhood friend, Caroline, to visit her urgently, comes at just the right time. Sophie and Caroline couldn't have come from more different backgrounds; Caroline was brought up in wealth that her father built, while Sophie had loving but poor parents. Though having lived continents apart for 25 years, Sophie and Caroline have kept sporadically in touch by letter then email.

Sophie arrives to find that Caroline lives in a dark, "squat" mansion, The Conifers, a couple of hours from London. (As an aside, I found the couple of uses of the word, squat, incorrect) The manor stands on a cliff, overlooking a stony beach. The countryside peace has the backdrop of the tides and waves smashing against the stones and rocks. Then there's the thunder of the ubiquitous rains and storms of England.

I loved the gothic atmosphere Jill Childs has created in The First Wife. There's the dark, foreboding mansion harbouring mysterious householders. The earth-shattering screams deep in the night. The bedroom hidden away from the rest of the house's inhabitants. The crashing of tides and storms. Slippery cliffs that must be climbed and descended in dark, rainy weather.

I didn't mind the meandering pace at all, so engaged did Jill Childs make me feel in the set-up. There's even a few meandering walks that Sophie takes down the cliff to the shore and back again, and to the village. She discovers a quaint hideaway house part way to the beach that she must use. Caroline was an artist, and this cottage is full of painted canvases and art supplies. Yet, Caroline tells Sophie to throw away the paintings. This is part of the jarring tension that propels the reader forward.

With a title like, The First Wife, the reader expects marital friction and domestic dramas. Adultery and jealousy; perhaps revenge. There was all that to look forward to. Jill Childs delivered it in spades, subtly at first, with atmospheric prose always.

Far from the enthusiastic and confident, if entitled, friend that Sophie remembered, Caroline seems brusque and cold. Why is Caroline’s three year old daughter, Lucy, recently rendered mute? Sophie thinks Lucy appears thin, neglected and afraid. Even her full-time nanny is cold and brash. Then there's Caroline's handsome, charismatic husband, Dominic. Why is he always in London, setting Caroline even more on edge?

Early on, Sophie is woken deep into the night by an ear-piercing scream. She scrambles up flights of stairs to find out what the problem is.

Sophie is sure there are unsavory secrets in this remote mansion that houses such unhappy people.

The First Wife is written from two points of view - Sophie's and Caroline's. Sophie's present account in the dark, forbidding English countryside, contrasts with the heat, smells and hustle bustle of Caroline's Hong Kong of the recent and not so recent past.

The voices are distinct and interesting. I recommend The First Wife for readers of psychological mysteries. The twist 90 percent in was a pleasant surprise I didn't see coming. The final reveal not a twist in my books.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Jill Childs for the chance to review The First Wife.

This review also appears in Goodreads,
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3228919957 and https://thereadersvault.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-first-wife-by-jill-childs.html?m=1. It will appear in Amazon.com when the book is published.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review -
What a book!
Do you ever really know someone?
Sophie and Caroline are childhood friends.... When Caroline sends Sophie a message asking her to come she jumps at the chance to see her friend.
But things aren't as they seem - Caroline seems different, abrupt, and angry, Caroline and her child don't seem close, husband works in town during the week and home on weekends.
And then Caroline fires the nanny so Sophie stays to help.
She begins digging and what she finds shocks her!

Sorry I wasn't able to go on and finish this book.
I'll try again next time and leave a feedback.
Thank you for the accept

The First Wife is a stunning page turner I did not want to put down.
The love of a mother know no end and the ending is so twisted and fascinating ...just WOW!
Unbelievably fantastic read. This is the best I’ve read so far in 2020.
Worth more than 5 stars to me.

What's secrets hide behind closed doors in this isolated house by the sea?

This was my first book by Jill Childs and it did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed her writing style and the descriptions had my attention. The character building was strong, with alternate viewpoints switching between the main characters, Sophie and Caroline.

The First Wife is packed full of secrets, deception and lies... the twist at the very end ... well played! I did not see that coming! Overall this was a very satisfying read.

A huge thank you to Bookouture Books-On-Tour and Jill Childs for my review copy!!

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed Jill's previous books I was really looking forward to this one. Sadly, I found it disappointing when compared to her earlier work. I really struggled to continue with the book when nothing much seemed to be happening until I was about 60% into the story. After that, however, the plot really kicked in and I loved the final part of the story. The twist was excellent, the setting was just brilliant and added to the suspense. If only the first part of the book had been more gripping it would have been a terrific read but the long slog to get to the real action did spoil it for me. I will look out for other books by Jill as I loved her earlier ones so this may just be a blip or maybe this one just wasn't for me. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

I've lost count of the number of times I've looked at psychological thrillers which are advertised as 'unputdownable' or 'gripping'. Sadly many of them fail to live up to this description. However, I have just finished reading The First Wife by Jill Childs and have to say it totally lives up to all of this and more. It is written from two different perspectives - Sophie and Caroline, old school friends who have kept in touch over the years but not seen each other. Well heeled Caroline has led a glamorous life in the ex-pat community in Hong Kong with husband Dominic. They have now returned to the UK with three year old Lucy, having bought The Conifers, a large house perched high on the cliffs overlooking the sea. Sophie has lived her life through Caroline's letters and e-mails. Her own has been dull in comparison. A long term relationship with a married man that didn't work out and then more recently, living back in the family home nursing her father. With her father's recent death and about to sell the house, an invitation to stay with Caroline and Dominic is just the kind of escape Sophie needs. It is only when she arrives she begins to realise things are not at all what she expected.

The story draws you in from page one and as soon as the two friends are reunited, it's clear that it's a far from happy household. The longer Sophie stays the more uncomfortable she begins to feel. I'm not going to delve any farther into the plot only to say it's an absolute 'must read' for lovers of psychological thrillers. The writing is both descriptive and atmospheric and just as you think you have the whole thing worked out, there's a totally unexpected twist which I didn't see coming. A great read and highly recommended - in fact if I could give it more than five stars I would!

While this is a good book, with well defined characters and an interesting plot, it took a long time to get into. Very slow moving for the first half, if not three quarters, of the book. The last quarter moved much quicker and was the most enjoyable part of the read. I have a difficult time with slow moving books and found myself putting this book down and picking it back up numerous times. I prefer a more fast-paced moving novel oh, but that's me.

I would like to thank the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

After her father's death, Sophie goes to visit her childhood friend Caroline who she had kept in contact with over the years. When met by her friend, she senses things are different with her. Without going into any details to give this book away, I will say there were parts that were predictable but it didn't take away from the story or make me enjoy it any less.

Jill did a wonderful job of writing and kept the story flowing. The title of the book didn't really fit with the story line, but it was an easy, enjoyable read and one I would recommend to friends.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Jill Childs for the chance to review The First Wife.

This was a careful slow building simmering book and the tensions were palatable from the first few pages. Two old friends reunite after 30 years - and wow, how they have changed. Told from the two perspectives, I felt so sorry for Caroline’s daughter Lucy, living in the gothic mansion when Sophie arrives to regroup after her fathers death. No rest here. This one fooled me and I did t see the ending coming.

This book was great! I felt like I was part of the story, and was along for the ride of the whole plot. The ending had such a clever twist I never saw coming.

I thoroughly enjoyed Sophie's parts of the story. Caroline's - not so much because I found my attention wandering after a while. I believe the publishers have come out with a new edition recently, and this one may be better. That said, the plot's great, and the suspense is maintained until the end. A good psychological thriller all around. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.