Meh

The writing is subpar, the storyline lefts little to be desired, the plot is something that has been excessively used before and this is more of a suspense drama than a thriller. This is not a good book.

What the freak!! One dead body and two wives as the suspects. It couldn't get more brilliant than that. Excitement raced through me as I staryed reading the clever words of the author Tess Stimson. She blew me away with the way she layered the book with scenes which made me swing like a pendulum suspecting everyone.

Family drama at its best, the lies overflowed when each chapter revealed its secrets. One part of me was glad the husband died. Told in dual narratives of both wives, the ex and the present, along with the police interviews, the story was one delicious twist after another. Who could have done it? At one point, I was sure, had I been in the plot, I would have done it. But I didn't... I was in the sidelines peering in.

A story with complex relationship with inner plotting and outer niceties, the book was a pandora's box where all the sins flew when the lid was opened and culminated with a finality of murder.

A perfect whodunit set in a family who loved each other - So not - with an explosive end. Simply UNPUTDOWNABLE.

EXCERPT: His blood is all over both of us. Arterial blood, bright with oxygen. My shirt is drenched in it. It's in my mouth, in my nostrils; I breathe it in, I taste it. Salty and metallic, as if I've licked a rusty metal railing.

I rock back on my heels and push the hair out of my eyes. Our mortal struggle has left us both panting, gasping for breath. Ten feet away from me, she manoeuvres herself into a half-seated position, her left arm hanging uselessly at her side.

The knife lies in a glistening ruby pool between us. I don't take my eyes off her for a single second. Her gaze slides towards the blade, and then back to me.

My phone is out of reach in my bag by the door. There's no use calling for an ambulance, anyway. He's dead. No one can lose that much blood and survive.

There are shouts outside. Running feet. The Beach House is set away from the main hotel, but sound carries across water. Someone heard the screaming. Help is coming.

I see her realise it too. Cradling her dislocated arm, she turns quickly towards the open terrace door, weighing up her chances. It's only one floor up, there's soft sand below, but the tide is coming in, cutting off the causeway, and she's in no condition to scramble up the treacherous cliff steps. She's running out of time, anyway; the voices are right outside the door.

She looks at me, and gives a small shrug, win some, lose some,
The hubbub outside intensifies. The door shudders, then splinters. Two men spill into the room, a press of white faces behind them. I see the shock in their eyes as the gory scene registers. One of them turns and shuts the door, but not before a mobile phone flashes in the crowd.

Now perhaps everyone will finally believe me.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: Both of them loved him. One of them killed him . . .

Louise has had to watch her husband, Andrew, start a new family in the four years since he left her. The ‘other woman’ is now his wife – but Louise isn’t ready to let Caz enjoy the life that was once hers, or to let go of the man she still loves.

As Louise starts to dig into Caz’s past, the two women’s pretence of civility starts to slip. But in trying to undermine each other, they discover more about the man they both married.

And when Andrew is murdered during the anniversary celebrations, both women are found standing over the body.

It’s always the wife. But which one?

MY THOUGHTS: O!M!G! This just blew me away. What an exciting read! Gripping, compelling, all those superlatives that are bandied around actually apply to One in Three. I could not put this down.

You know how they say there's his story, and her story, and the truth is somewhere in the middle....well, in this case there's her story, and her story....and where is the truth?

What a family! What a complex set of relationships! This family is like a basket of venomous snakes. Everyone has their own agenda. No one tells the truth, except for Min. I loved Min, but her loyalties could be a little misplaced, or not.

The story is told primarily from the viewpoints of Louise and Caz (Caroline) interspersed with police interviews with other people who were at the anniversary party. We start with a death, then move back seven weeks before the party where the death occurred to experience the events leading up to the party.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. And there are at least two of them here.

Be prepared to be amazed. An exquisite read!

5 very excited stars This is the second book I have read by this author. I loved both and will be reading everything Tess Stimson has ever written.

#OneinThree #NetGalley

'Memory is a very unreliable narrator...we all think memories are stored in our brains just as they are in computers. Once registered, the data is put away for safe-keeping and eventual recall. The facts don't change. But the truth is, every time we remember something, we are reconstructing the event, reassembling it from traces throughout the brain.'

'The real monsters aren't seamy, sleazy oddballs with lank hair and dead eyes who lurk in back alleys and dark corners. They're pleasant family men who live among you, handsome and charming, the last people you'd ever expect.'

THE AUTHOR: Tess Stimson frequently contributes to newspapers and women's magazines. Born in England, she graduated from Oxford before working as a television news producer. Stimson is also the author of Hard News, Soft Focus, Pole Position, The Adultery Club, The Infidelity Chain (UK)/One Good Affair (US), The Nanny (UK)/Who Loves You Best (US), What's Yours Is Mine, The Wife Who Ran Away, The Lying Game and An Open Marriage. She is also the author of two works of non-fiction, Beat the Bitch: How to Stop the Other Woman Stealing Your Man, and Yours Till The End: The biography of a Beirut Hostage. She lives in Vermont with her family.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Avon Books via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of One in Three by Tess Stimson for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system, please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com.

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...

One In Three is author Tess Stimson's second psychological thriller, her first being Picture of Innocence.
Oh but I did enjoy this one....
Divorce is always hard for a family.
When one wants to leave and one wants to stay, it's always hard to meet in the middle and move on with a new life.
Throw a new wife and child into the equation and life becomes anything but smooth..
We meet Louise and Andrew in this story. Happily married until they weren't...
Andrew moves on with his life meeting and marrying Caz.
These ladies do not get on however, blaming each other at every opportunity.
To say these relationships are complicated and fraught with tension is an understatement.
Wouldn't you say that makes for a great read...
When Andrew is found dead at a family party, all eyes are on both wives...
Which one of them hates him enough to kill him.....
I think Andrew was trying to please both women in his life and ultimately pleased none of them...
I found it engrossing to read what I could only describe as a brutal love triangle....
Well worth your time 💕

This was a really enjoyable psychological thriller. The characters were intriguing and the plot itself was great... with an unexpected twist at the end. The first time I have read any books by this author, but I will keep my eye out for more in the future. This is recommended for anyone that enjoys reading books in this genre.
Thank you netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

One in Three opens with a body; Andrew Page has been murdered and two women are present, both of whom are covered in his blood. Immediately after this scene comes the first transcript of one of the interviews conducted by police investigating his death, and his former mother-in-law, Celia asserts it was his current wife, Caz who killed him. It's not quite as straightforward as this, however, as the evidence could also point to his former wife - Celia's daughter, Louise.
The novel then goes back through the seven weeks preceding the family party where Andrew was murdered. Alternately narrated by Louise and Caz, with the occasional chapter told from Louise's sister-in-law, Min's perspective and with more police transcripts interspersed throughout, a troubled picture gradually emerges of a family not blended together but caught up in a toxic relationship in which it seems some terrible breaking-point is almost inevitable.
One in Three is a deliciously addictive read because both women are unreliable narrators, ensuring my sympathies and suspicions constantly shifted as their different accounts of the same events cast doubt on everything that occurs. Min's chapters are more reasoned but her loyalty towards Louise, even when she is deeply concerned about her behaviour, means that even her impressions are potentially biased to a degree. Both women have their secrets and are difficult to like at times but have their more redemptive moments too, and I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Caz and her stepdaughter, Bella.
There are times when it seems as if an epiphany may occur as one or the other realises just how unhealthy the situation has become but fortunately for the reader, the feverish atmosphere between them is never allowed to drop below a simmer before something happens to push it back towards boiling point. Interestingly, it was actually the victim, Andrew who became the only figure I actually loathed and while that doesn't mean I think he deserved to die, it's hard not to find him ultimately culpable for much of what happens. To the public who know him as a news anchor, he is charming and charismatic but in truth he is narcissistic and manipulative and in the increasingly acrimonious weeks leading up to the fateful party, I felt the women in his life deserved so much more.
As more secrets are revealed, One in Three takes a darker turn and though Andrew's outcome is predetermined, the truth as to what really happened is impossible to predict. One twist leads to another in this complex, tense psychological thriller and though love triangles often result in unhappy endings, One in Three will undoubtedly leave its readers more than satisfied; I very much enjoyed it.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. This is a very well written book that’s full of surprises. You will not figure out how this book ends as it’s that suspenseful. This is my first book by this author and I will definitely be reading more of her books!!!!

This was okay, but a bit too predictable. There were a couple unexpected twists, and it was a quick read overall. The characters were just "meh," and I didn't really connect with them as I'd hoped. This is the first book I've read by this author. I may consider checking out future books.

I had high expectations to love this. I loved how the story started at the end and slowly worked its way towards that.. great concept. I loved learning about each woman side of the story during the affair because it made it so realistic. Divorce isn't easy, its complicated and messy and no one has the whole story. I liked that. I think for me the two women stories blurred and were too close together I found myself rewininding back to see WHO was actually talking and I really think if this was an audible with two voice actors this would be a killer book (teehee). I loved how neither woman was perfect nor as simple or naive as they presented themselves to the world. They were both vindictive and yet they were both victims.

Is there any better start to a book than with a body? Not for me there isn’t and this one comes with so much drama. This domestic thriller starts at an anniversary party for Louise’s parents and they have not only invited her ex husband but his new wife too. As if that wasn’t bad enough, during the party Andrew is found dead on the floor and both Louise his ex wife and Caz his new wife are with him and both covered in blood.

We then go back in time to six weeks before the party and the countdown towards what unfolded. Narrated mostly by Louise and Caz your allegiance will switch between the two repeatedly. We also hear from a few family members and the inclusion of police interview transcripts gives little titbits of information that again make you question which one is the guilty party.

I did think this would be a typical love triangle gone horribly wrong but there is so much more to this story than that. Divorce is never pretty but this one is Ugly with a capital U. Full of jealousy and building resentment this book seethes with it from both sides giving both women motive for murder.

Featuring very complex blended families and unusual sides being drawn you really are pulled in along with the police trying to distinguish fact from fiction to get to the truth. The characters are realistic with their flaws and written with honesty and whether you like them or not you get a sense that they would actually behave that way.

With some nicely placed twists and revelations, and an ending I did not see coming, this was a very clever whodunnit.

Oh wow this book was amazing!!! The pace starts straight away from page one and it keeps you guessing right until the end. I couldn’t put it down it was so twisty and even if you thought who did the murder, this book keeps giving you different clues so that you change your mind over a dozen times.
This shouldn’t definitely be made into a film, it has all the qualities and tension in it that would make a great thriller.
My lovely daughter recommended this to me she said she thought it was the best book she’d read this year and I tend to agree with her.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I wasn’t sure where this book was going when I started reading it. I hadn’t read the summary, so I was going in blind. I thought it was going to be a romance, but a few pages in, I saw there was a little dark mystery occurring.
I enjoyed the story, I was intrigued how it was going to end.
My only complaint is some times throughout the story, I was unclear who was speaking; it was a bit confusing at times. It seemed to switch narrative within the chapter.

You know when you get a book and you think, nope I don't know if I am going to like this. Well I admit at the start I really wasn't sure I was going to like it. I mean the characters really irritated me and I thought nope HOWEVER by golly I am glad I kept reading.

The book follows Louise and Caz. They have both been married to the same man Andrew. Louise is now the ex-wife, Caz is the new young wife and has started a new family with Andrew. There is definitely trigger warnings in this book for those who have suffered from Abuse, particularly psychological. It was subtle but to me it was there. The relationship between the characters were toxic and you couldn't help but be compelled to read on and find out what everyone's secrets were.

One in Three opens up with a savage assault and the death of Andrew, the two main characters ex-husband and current husband. I immediately liked the book for throwing it straight out there and jumping into the good stuff!

This is the first book that I have read by Tess Stimson and the atmosphere she created was one of the best in my opinion around suspense and psychological fiction.  I literally disliked Louise, I really didn't want to read her chapters, she was written that well. The more I got into the book the more I liked her and you know what I wanted her to get a good ending.

This book is all about secrets and lies. Not just from one character but all of them. They are all hiding something to protect themselves and their families. They are all selfish,  especially Andrew. I mean he was a really horrid person. He got what he deserved, I don't want to say more as it will spoil the book. But yeah I am happy with that ending, call me bloodthirsty LOL.

The main storyline follows Louise and Caz but there is also subplots running through between the secondary characters. Tess Stimson I felt has done this perfectly as they all impact one another and make the story to me more.

I like how the book had police interviews with characters mixed into the book, you gained more insight to what had happened and the line of questioning. It was a whodunnit book, but there wasn't much given away and I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't guess who the killer was. I did have a WTF moment at the end and had to read the last few pages again. It was that good.

The book is full of tension and suspense. The clash between Louise and Caz is explosive at times. You can't help but pick sides, but at the end after all the secrets come out you want the two of them to work together to untie. I found part of the book about Andrew quite upsetting, I mean TRIGGER WARNING HERE he did something in my eyes that is definitely an abuse of power, and to try and reason it away, nope not going to happen.

I would highly recommend this book if you want a compelling page turning thriller that will have you guessing who the killer is, and if deceased deserved it (personally think they did).

I received a free advance reader's copy in exchange for my honest review. Thanks NetGalley & Avon Books UK!

One In Three focuses on the murder of Andrew. Andrew is the ex-husband of Louise and the present husband of Caz. The book starts with the discovery of his body along with both wives who are covered in his blood. The police are trying to determine which one is the killer but each insists it's the other. Meanwhile, the reader is taken through the events leading up to that fateful day...

This book was full of twists and turns. There were so many surprises that I could not figure out who was the murderer until it was revealed.

The wives, in my opinion, were just as bad as the other. However, the person who was truly to be blamed for how bad the situation deteriorated was Andrew. The more I got into the story, the more I disliked him.

The author certainly knew how to build the tension. She wrote in different viewpoints and each time she switched just as the excitement was reaching a crescendo.

There was mention of underage sex and child abuse which may be triggers for some readers.

I enjoyed this book immensely and would love to try more of the author's work.

Suitable audience: Any adult or older teen who enjoys mysteries
Recurrent themes: Divorce. Hostility. Infidelity. Murder. Deceit.
Violence: The story's main focus is solving a murder
Sexual Content: Sex is mentioned but there aren't much details
Profanity: Some instances of obscene language
Religious Themes: None
Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking: Social drinking and smoking

I've never read this author but something about the description sound good. I'm so glad I did give it a go I enjoyed from beginning to end. I highly recommend this book.

One in Three is Tess Stimson’s latest domestic thriller and her second foray into the psychological suspense genre. It opens with a dramatic and shocking bang with Andrew Page dead and bloodied with a knife by his side in the Beach House in a scene of utter carnage; standing over the body are both his ex-wife Louise and current wife, Caz, and both are covered from head to toe in blood. Of course when push comes to shove they blame each other making the case a trickier one to solve. Louise still isn't over the fact that Andrew divorced her four years ago to be with his mistress Caz and since then both women have been finding sneaky ways to undermine each other. However, they get more than they bargained for when their snooping reveals some startling secrets about their beloved Andrew. All of this takes place on Burgh Island in Devon where Louise Page’s parents, Celia and Brian Roberts, are hosting a party to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. Both women claim to love Andrew but it appears that one of them hated him enough to murder him in cold blood. Who killed him?

Right from the very start there's no messing about in this book; Stimson gets straight to the point and captivates immediately with the explosive opening scene. You are kept guessing throughout and the fact that it is told primarily from Caz and Louise’s perspectives creates a build-up of tension and a suspenseful atmosphere where you never know what's about to happen; whether you can trust what either one of them says is a good question given They are each accusing the other of the slaying. I have a soft spot for unreliable narrators and when it is well executed as it is here it can lead to an even more engrossing read. The interspersing of the police interviews throughout the story was a fascinating and effective concept and definitely added to the compulsiveness. It's a book fuelled by jealousy, revenge, vendettas, deceit, duplicity, secrets and deception but as Andrew’s skeletons come tumbling out of the closet it could very well be that both women had a motive to kill him and by blaming each other they cleverly create reasonable doubt. Many thanks to Avon for an ARC.

I read this in one sitting! And it was soooo good!

The whole story was very interesting and even though I suspected how it would end, I was still shocked a bit.
I loved how this story kept me thinking if I was getting it all wrong and I kept questioning some things until the very end!

Let's first get over with the things that annoyed me, but aren't neceseraly bad for the story.

-> the nicknames! Caroline goes by Caz, Christina by Chris and Tina and Wilhelmina goes by Min. Why, oh why can't people just go by their given names? If the author wants them to be called XY, why just not call them XY so there's no need for nicknames? With the first three you actually know that they are nicknames, but with the Min, you don't even know that it's just a nickname until excerpt from the interrogation.

-> the whole feud between Louise and Caroline. It was hard at first to understand why it started (except the fact that Caroline married Andrew, Louise's (ex)husband almost as soon as the divorce was finalized. The back and forth fighting between the two could've been easily avoided if they just sat down and talked, instead blaming each other for things and being jealous. They both did get back at each other and sabotaged each other, but they could've gotten along a bit better if one of them just stopped acting like a child and actually tried to have a civilized conversation with the other.

-> the murderer. The fact that Celia decided to murder Andrew and then didn't do anything (neither confessed or tried to help the accused) under the pretense that she was protecting her daughter and granddaughter. She saw right through Louise and her denial that she wanted her husband back and it was clear that she was on to something with insisting that Andrew was invited. But the fact that she said her life was over when her older son died, why didn't she simply kill Andrew and confess? I mean, Caroline thought Bella did it, Louise thought Caroline did it and in the end noone was acused because Louise and Caroline accused each other. Bella could've been the one to go to jail had it not been Caroline's thinking. Of course, Celia didn't know that, but after hearing what happened after she left, she seemed pretty content if Caroline would go to jail innocent.

-> the fact that Louise wanted her husband back after he cheated on her and she cheated on him ??!! How can you want to destroy another marriage the same way yours was destroyed????

Other than that, I really enjoyed the story! At times I even thought that Andrew was messing around with both women (which he did, but not in a way I imagined it) and letting them fight so one of them would actually snap and kill the other or even him.

Because there were some events that were told from just one perspective, some things suggested that either Louise or Caroline were deliberately lying and imagining things just to accuse the other. Louise and her former tutor and then the events with his wife supported that, as well Caroline changing her name and her mother. Caroline's past abuse supported that even further.

Well that was fun! What a twisty delicious domestic noir. Andy, the handsome, charismatic tv anchor, leaves Louise a week after their son is born to live with and marry Caz, a younger woman he was having an affair with while living with Louise and their two children. Caz and Andy now have a son. Fair enough, except he never really gave up Louise a and her extended family who really hope he will get back with Louise. I’m getting ahead of myself, the first chapter shows Andrew lying dead of stab wounds in a beach house where the family was celebrating his ex mother and father in law wedding anniversary. Oh and yes, both Cas and Louise are covered in Andrews blood, all in in the same room, pointing fingers at each other when police arrive alerted by screams. So, which one killed him? We go back to a few weeks before the party and countdown to the killing. Sometimes I was on team Louise, then switched to team Caz and then back again with each new reveal. Andy is back and forth. Ordinary women pushed to the limit fighting over a man seems dated, but not in Stimson’s hands. Fast paced, with plenty of teases and you have to wait until the very end to discover which woman finally came to their senses and did him in. Phew!

Andy Page is killed are his ex mother in laws anniversary party where he is invited to come to with his new wife and their son. This book is written mainly from the points of view of his wife, ex wife and the police interviews.
It described the plot really well making it impossible to guess the twist at the end.
Well written and will look forward to reading more books by Tess Stimson.

I’d never heard of the author before but the blurb sounded like something I’d enjoy. I thought One In Three was great so I will definitely read more by the author. I knew I was going to enjoy this book after the intense opening sequence. A man’s been murdered and the obvious suspects are his current wife and ex-wife so which one is the more obvious or most likely? The chapters alternate between Louise and Caz gradually revealing the hatred between them both despite the public appearances which suggest everything is amicable between Caz, Louise and Andrew. Both women seem to be poisonous and capable of harming each other but does this mean one of them killed Andrew? I loved the fact you never know who to trust thanks to the author’s excellent use of unreliable narration. Caz feels that Andrew still loves Louise and always put her second even though she’s married to him. Louise thinks Caz is turning her children against her. Andrew is tired of all the bitching and madness. There are also interludes of police witness statements of the murder and events leading up to Andrew’s demise. This is well written, compelling and I had a great time reading it.