suspense ✔️
deceit✔️
obsession ✔️
betrayal ✔️
~ all the things I enjoy in a thriller! ⁣
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I was a fan of Michele Campbell’s 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 so I was excited to read this book and it didn’t disappoint. We have a rich older wife, Nina, now dead under mysterious circumstances. A dashing younger husband, Connor, who stands to inherit everything. And of course his mistress, the poor, gullible Tabitha who can’t help but fall again for the boy that broke her heart years ago. Recipe for disaster right!⁣
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Honestly, I didn’t even like these characters - they all seemed shady. Nina was paranoid (albeit with some reason), Connor was self serving and full of himself and Tabitha was whiny and a bit too gullible but all of that added to the drama and fun for me. It seems everyone had some motive to want poor, rich Nina dead. The question was who actually did it?⁣
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I listened to the audiobook for this one and thoroughly enjoyed it. This was an entertaining, twisty read that had all the layers of a juicy soap opera. A bit unrealistic towards the end but I went willingly along for the ride becaus

From bestselling author Michele Campbell comes THE WIFE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, a tautly written, chilling novel that more than lives up to the suspense of her previous effort, A STRANGER ON THE BEACH.

The book opens from the perspective of Nina Levitt, a wealthy older woman who came to prestige and privilege as the young mistress of a CEO and entrepreneur. Now, with her husband dead of natural causes, she commands her own wealth and portion of his company --- but she, too, has fallen under the spell of someone younger. Nina is now Mrs. Connor Ford, and on the eve of her massive annual summer party, she has learned that her new husband and his mistress are conspiring to murder her. After penning a diary entry divulging the full details of the conspiracy against her, Nina sets off for one final party where she will leave Connor, securing her wealth and reputation.

Enter Tabitha Girard, a down-on-her-luck waitress working out of a small New England town that once boasted a prominent resort community. In her late teens, Tabitha --- against the wishes of her family and community --- began a passionate relationship with a teenaged Connor Ford, a frequent visitor of the country club where she worked. Now older, wiser and divorced, Tabitha believes that nothing will live up to her first love...until Connor walks into her bar. She has kept tabs on him for years and knows that he is married to Nina; she has seen their pictures flashed across tabloids and picked apart on the internet. But despite her own life spiraling, she has never moved past her first love, and when Connor indicates that he, too, is still pining for her, she rekindles their flame. Bolstering her passion is Connor's admission that he married for money, not love, and once he is divorced, he and Tabitha can begin their real life together --- with Nina’s wealth footing the bill.

Now Nina is dead, Tabitha is pregnant, and Connor is about to become both a father and a massive decision-maker within his late wife’s company. But when Tabitha moves into her new husband’s home, Windswept, she discovers that Nina died under more mysterious circumstances than he was willing to admit. Even worse, in a truly REBECCA-esque spin on trauma, Nina’s staff is instantly hostile towards Tabitha, driving a wedge between her and Connor and prompting her to wonder what actually happened in the last moments of Nina’s life. Between Connor; Nina’s head PR person, who had many reasons to hate Nina; and Nina's personal assistant, Juliet, who knows far more than she lets on, the list of suspects mounts. But Tabitha has a secret weapon against all of them: She knows for a fact that she was not present when Nina died, and, having lived through her own bouts of domestic criminality, she will do anything to avoid jail time.

THE WIFE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH is my second Michele Campbell novel, and it absolutely blew the first one out of the water. With measured character development and eerily prescient pacing, Campbell has crafted a practically perfect thriller with plenty of twists and turns that still relies on the believable to drive its thrills home. Although full of suspicious characters, it is nearly impossible to pin down a villain until the very end. It relies as much on red herrings and suspense as it does on the reader’s own implicit biases to set the stage.

The allure of a gold digger digging a gold digger is too rich (pardon the pun) to avoid and, coupled with Campbell’s signature talent for writing the underprivileged, erupts in a narrative brimming with privilege, prejudice and personality. And yet, there is no shaming voiced by Campbell; she writes complex, multilayered characters who hold their own motivations and desires and sets them free upon her plot in a way that affords each of them a full developmental arc while still propelling the narrative forward.

THE WIFE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH is absolutely unputdownable and will award Campbell plenty of new readers with its flawless characters and carefully crafted plot.

This was a good, fun read. It's the story of two people who meet as teenagers, they have a summer fling and part ways only to reconnect years later as adults. Tabitha is working as a waitress while Connor has married an extremely wealthy and successful woman. Tabitha and Connor still have feelings for each other and rekindle their romance despite Connor being married. This is the start of the drama that's too come.
I felt that the characters were a bit shallow and I didn't really connect with any of them. I also felt that Tabitha was a bit naive and this became annoying as the story went on.
I wasn't expecting the ending and felt that the author did a good job of wrapping everything up. All in all I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a twisty, somewhat suspenseful story.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Really liked this domestic-noir type mystery. While the narration is mainly from main character Tabitha's point of view, the story actually begins with an excerpt from Nina's diary. Who happens to turn up dead the same day of her diary entry, found drowned in the swimming pool. Was it suicide? An accident? Or murder? That diary entry sets the stage for a great page-turner, full of twists and turns. What happened to Nina? Can Tabitha trust Connor? Great suspense. I really enjoyed this book.

This book was just okay for me. There was a pretty good story there, and the breadcrumb trail was engaging. My main complaint, however, is that I did not understand why all the female characters were so obsessed with this guy, who was very one-dimensional, in my opinion.

The Wife Who Knew Too Much was a quick and satisfying read. Romance and affairs, money and greed, all grace the pages of Campbelle’s thriller. I loved how her characters were well developed and deeply flawed. This led to much discussion of trust, infidelity and social class disparity. It also made me question who I could trust as a reader and who was lying. Scandal after scandal, a potential murder and twists and turns that keep you guessing. The Wife Who Knew Too Much is a juicy treat!

A murder mystery with possible romantic elements in it. I enjoyed the story. Although I felt annoyed at some of the character's decisions. I'm not the murder mystery thriller expert but from what I've read, it follows the format of a typical murder mystery. You set the stage. You murder the person. And the last chapter is filled with information to tell you who what why when and how. For me, I look at the book and wanted to see if there were any hints to have figured out the killer. A book that throws some snippets here and there that slipped the reader's mind because of slight of hand and the author made us focus on something else; that is what I'm looking for. At the end of the book, I wasn't fully satisfied. There was a red herring that was too obvious as a red herring. I both loved and hated the main character. There were times I felt the author was trying to justify the main character's decisions and I was irritated. Was all this contrived? Or was this realistic for the character? In general, I would say this is a cute murder mystery if one can even call a murder mystery "cute".

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Wife Who Knew Too Much by Michele Campbell.

When Tabitha sees her long lost summer fling at the restaurant she works, her world stops. Connor meant everything to her, even though it was a quick romance. But Connor also brutally broke her heart, so she's hesitant to start anything again with him, not to mention the giant hurdle of the fact that he's now married. But Connor's wife is abruptly killed, and now Tabitha doesn't know who to trust, or what to believe.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this one. It was incredibly easy to devour, the story stole my brain instantly. However, I'm having a moral dilemma about who the victims and perpetrators really are. I know that in life, lines are blurred when it comes to every day occurrences, but in matters of murder and infidelity...it's a bit more black and white. It was confusing not to know who to feel bad for at the end.

This book kept me guessing until the end. Every time I thought I had it figured out, there was a new twist. I would definitely recommend The Wife Who Knew Too Much!

Oh boy. I don’t even know where to begin with this one. It’s been a long time since I’ve given a book just one star.

This was probably the most fast paced thriller I’ve read in a long time. And to a fault. Quick love, quick marriage, quick pregnant, quick murder, quick conspiracy, quick explanation. QUICK QUICK QUICK. It gave me whiplash, and in turn, made the whole thing entirely unbelievable for me.

Aside from an almost epic car chase, which also ended quickly and with a great amount of cheesiness, this one was a total disappointment for me.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I don’t care if it’s fall, I’ll still read a summer thriller, any day, any time. I tore through this one quickly because it was input-downable. I’ll continue to read anything the wonderful @michelecampbellbooks writes.

Description:
This story begins with a strong hook: the diary entry of a wealthy woman whose husband -- she is certain -- is planning to kill her. The woman is Nina Levitt, a woman revered amongst the social set, and her husband from a second marriage is the much-younger Connor.

Tabitha, a small-town waitress, runs into Connor after his wife’s death, and she is instantly pulled back into the brief but unforgettable romance she had in the past with him. Back then, he was the preppy member of a country club where she served people poolside. And now, he seems just as wealthy and out of her reach, yet she finds herself drawn to him.

As Tabitha finds herself thrust into a decadent world of wealth and privilege she’d never imagined possible, she begins to wonder what actually happened to Nina Levitt and how far Connor may have gone to inherit her wealth.
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This was a fun read with lots of twists and turns. What I loved most about it was being on the ride with Tabitha when she goes from rags to riches so quickly that she is like a fish out of water, or perhaps a fish who is suddenly swimming with very wealthy sharks. It was a fun and slightly terrifying look at ‘how the other half lives.’

It is so hard to get a read on who Connor is, in only the best way. Is he a good-hearted guy who got caught up in the idea of wealth? Is he a manipulative man who is conning whoever he needs to in order to get ahead? Is he a guy who lost his way but is now trying to do right?

I really had no idea what to expect at the end, which is the mark of a great thriller. I highly recommend this if you want an edge-of-your-seat summer (or fall!) read.

Thank you to @macmillanbooks and #netgalley for the ARC of #thewifewhoknewtoomuch

Love. Betrayal. Deceit. Scandal. Lies. This was an adictive twisted story with a cast of unlikable characters. Tabatha and Connor met and fell in love as teenagers. But Tabitha was a poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks so Connor‘s family put the kibosh on that. Then years later Connor shows up in the bar where Tabatha is working. Convinced it’s fate they spend a passionate weekend together, but after the fated encounter Tabatha finds out Connor is married. And not only is he married he is married to one of the wealthiest women in the country. Feeling duped Tabatha knows she needs to rid Connor from her mind, but then Nina Connor‘s wife is found dead....

This was an absolute page turner, I needed to know how it was all going to play out. Tabitha was a confusing character. The girl simultaneously frustrated me and had me feeling bad for her. She was so dang naïve and yet at the same time seemed so kind. All I do know for sure is she definitely made some really bad decisions. Connor I really honestly still have no idea what to think of him. Sometimes I wanted Tabatha and him to find their HEA and other times I wanted him tooo get his... I do have to say though these two confusing characters made for some twisted addictive reading. This book took some crazy turns I did not see coming with an ending I’m still contemplating.

This book in emojis 🏖 🍻 ⌚️ 💰 📓 🛩 🍹

*** Big thank you to St. Martin’s Pess for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

Michele Campbell writes thrillers that feel new, fresh, twist-y and fun. Every year I find myself looking forward to the release of her next book, and this year was no exception!

The opening chapter is perfection. It sets up a lot of the story in a way that has you questioning every page of the book until the jaw-dropping conclusion. A diary entry from wealthy socialite Nina who believes her husband is planning to kill her... I love a good hook in the opening to a thriller and Michele Campbell truly nailed it with this one!

Psychological thrillers come in so many styles, from the subtly terrifying “this could actually happen to me” to the darkly twisted keep-the-lights-on to the popcorn wild-ride can’t put it down fun. I think this one falls in the latter category. Every moment of the book felt slightly larger than life and I completely lost myself in the story. Definitely clear your schedule when you start this!

There were so many fun elements to this thriller. Connor is an enigma and we see so many sides to him. Is he the sweet boy who fell in love with the pool girl from the wrong side of town in high school? The smooth-talking business man? The arm candy for a socialite who treats him as less than she is? The man who plotted to kill his wife and take her money? The man who lost his way in life who sees his former love and hopes to get his life back?

I loved the idea that Connor had so many different stories associated with him. It kept me constantly guessing—who is he lying to? Who is lying to us, the reader?

You will not be able to help rooting for Tabitha, a woman who has taken her fair share of setbacks by life. In high school, Tabitha got a glimpse of a different life when she and Connor fall in love. But things don’t work out when Connor’s family finds out. Tabitha is from the wrong side of town, after all. Working hard to get herself a better life, Tabitha ends up married to a man who again takes her happiness. Now, back working at a restaurant in the town she always dreamed of leaving behind her, fate may be back on Tabitha’s side when Connor shows up one night, looking as handsome as she remembers.

When Connor’s wife ends up dead of a suicide, it seems that the fates may finally be shining on Tabitha and Connor. But what if Nina didn’t commit suicide? What if there is more to the story? What if her final diary entry is true, and Connor is behind her death?

This twist-y thriller is a wild ride that you don’t want to miss!

Thank you to St Martin’s Press for my copy. I loved it so much, I bought a hardcover. Opinions are my own.

Tabitha Girard is a pool girl who falls in love with the preppy club member Connor Ford. He says he loves her too, but then jilts her and eventually marries a fantastically wealthy woman, Nina. When Nina apparently commits suicide, Connor brings Tabitha back into his life of wealth and power. But she finds Nina’s diary that implies that if she dies, it was Connor who would have killed her. Tabitha better figure this out before she’s implicated in murder, or becomes another victim. WASP morality and mores are on elegant display in this book, which is relatively predictable.

The only other book I have read by this author was She was the Quiet One and although I liked it, I liked this one even better. This book sucked me in from the beginning and although the outcome was not too surprising, there was a nice little twist and it kept me hanging on until the end.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for giving the opportunity to read and review THE WIFE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH by Michele Campbell. The author is new to me so I cannot make any comparisons to earlier works.
Most of the book is from Tabitha's point of view, except for a few entries mainly from letters and diaries from Nina. Tabitha and Connor had a romance when they were younger, but he was from a well to do family and she was from a poor one. They haven't seem each other in years when they meet up unexpectedly. Connor claims he still loves her, but he is married to Nina, a much older woman, who has a strong prenup to protect the wealth she inherited from her late husband.
Connor tells Tabitha to stay away and keep quiet, but she finds out she is pregnant and goes to find him at the lavish home where he lives. Several events take place that evening and Tabitha ends up a suspect in Nina's death. Thus ensues many twists and turns on the way to find out the truth. Does Connor really love Tabitha or is he just using her?
I did not really care for Tabitha. I realize she was from a difficult background, but she seemed to make some bad decisions and was a little too whiny. Connor was somewhat of a con man in many ways. Most of the characters had their own twisted agenda. The only one I felt sorry for was poor Gloria.
This novel was very easy to read and suspenseful. I wish the author success in her future novels.

Well, it really pains me to rate this one so low. Especially after reading and loving A Stranger on the Beach and thinking now, that's how you write a suspenseful page-turner. So what happened here, is it me? Do I have higher expectations than I did before, or did Michele Campbell miss the mark completely here developing these characters and giving them depth beyond the excepted gender roles of men and women? Honesty, I only finished it to see how Michele Campbell performed those stereotyped gender roles of men and women through her characters. If her goal was to hit on multiply stereotypes of men and women's expected behaviour and attitudes, I would rate it 5 stars.

I am going to leave my review at that not because I don’t have anything to say. I have a lot but my youngest son always reminds me to be nice. If I was a character in this story, I already performed that stereotyped mean girl side of women.

I downloaded my copy from NetGalley to a PDF to read on my kobo but I lost track of time and it expired so I ended up listening to it. I think listening to it only increased my dislike for the characters and maybe if I had read it I might not have felt as strongly as I did.

Tabitha reconnects with Connor after many years and a bad break up. Unfortunately, they reconnect while Connor is in the middle of marital tension with his much older wife. When she takes her own life, the two can finally be together, but then their reunited relationship uncovers some secrets of the past. This was a novel that I thought I had figured out, and then I didn't. Though some of it was predictable, there were definitely elements of surprise that I appreciated.

Tabitha and Connor had the perfect summer together until his grandmother found out about them and ended it. That was the last Tabitha saw of Connor until the night he came into the restaurant where she worked.

Conor now has it all, a beautiful, rich wife. House on the beach. Everything a guy could want, except he never forgot about Tabitha.

Then Nina, Connors wife, is found dead and Tabitha finds herself the new wife. Now they can have it all together, right?? This book catches your attention from the very beginning and holds it until the last sentence. Through twists and turns you try to figure out what really happened, who really did it (or was it really suicide?!). Such a thrilling read!! You won’t be able to put it down until it’s over

Thank you NetGalley, Michele Campbell and St. Martin’s Press for this edition and hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
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