This was a carefully plotted psychological thriller which kept you guessing and turning pages right until the end. It starts with a missing teacher and all suspicion falls on his wife. However, both their pasts have many dark secrets and it is for Ginny, a young CID detective to discover the truth. Told from both Alice (the wife's) and Ginny's perspective.

A teacher not showing up for the day?

Mr. Payne never misses a day.

Where could he be?

Aaron's wife Lila said he was gone when she woke up, but that is normal.

Lila said she had no idea where he could be, but Lila doesn't always tell the truth, and we know that Aaron was very controlling to the point of being abusive.

Lila had also found something on his phone that infuriated her, that he denied, and that caused a huge fight.

A nosey neighbor comes on the scene, and the school principal and a fellow teacher had called the police without Lila's knowledge.

Lila is a former attorney and knows how to stay cool, even though she isn't cool on the inside...she wonders where Aaron is when she knows he couldn't have gone anywhere.

When a note written on an index card is stuck in the sliding back door, its indication scares Lila because perhaps things didn't go as planned.

Who is Lila besides Aaron's wife? Will the police find out? And more importantly who is Aaron?

PRETTY LITTLE WIFE takes us through the investigation as tension mounts and Lila gets more nervous because she keeps getting notes but doesn't know who they are from. She is hoping they aren't from Aaron.

I kept thinking it had to be Lila who made Aaron disappear, but then someone else pops up.

It is difficult to figure out what happened to him.

Will you figure out where Aaron is and how he got there? This book is a guessing game until the very end.

There are some nice surprises.

ENJOY!! 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Everyone in the small town of Ithaca, New York is worried about the whereabouts of beloved high school teacher, Aaron Payne.

For most people, it's because Nia Simms podcast, Gone Missing, has speculated that his disappearance could be linked to the three students who had gone missing from the area, in recent years-Karen Blue-Julie Levin-and Lara James.

But, for his wife, Lila Ridgefield, it's because she killed him and left him for dead in his car, in the school parking lot, and both have vanished without a trace. (gulp)

It isn't possible that she didn't finish the job, is it?
She thought everything had been meticulously planned...

So, begins a battle of wits between Lila, and the lead investigator in the case, Ginny.

Lila is one cool customer.
But, Ginny is whip smart.

Who will prevail?

This story had everything that I look for in domestic suspense-
intelligent characters
surprise twists
red herrings and misdirection
and, for a bonus...a murderer I could root for!

Because Aaron's public persona was not the same as his private one.

Thank You to William Morrow for my gifted copy. it was my pleasure to provide a candid review.
Available Dec. 29, 2020!

Such a satisfying read! Pretty Little Wife had a fluid pace and kept my interest throughout. The twists and turns were sometimes surprising and all of them page turners. I highly recommend Pretty Little Wife. 5 stars

Pretty Little Wife by Darby Kane

Books with an unlikeable main character aren't my favorite but this story did a great job of grabbing and hanging on to my interest. Lila Ridgefield, with great preparation and planning, has killed her husband, Aaron, and parked his body and SUV in a field near the school where he taught. She planted his vile sexual videos in the car so people will know that her well liked husband was a horrible predator. But, no one finds the car and the body because both have gone missing. Was her husband not really dead? If not, Lila is in a massive amount of trouble because her husband will be coming after her. Also, since he's missing and no one knows of his preying on young women, Lila is the prime suspect in her "perfect" husband being missing and presumed dead. 

There is a local crime podcast that has been focusing on several missing young women who might be victims of a serial killer. Now that Lila's husband is missing, the podcast is featuring his disappearance, also. Secrets are going to come out. Both Lila and Aaron came from backgrounds involving murder and tragic deaths and those backgrounds are what brought them together. Not love, but a sense of safety between two badly damaged people who will never know feelings like normal, healthy people. But their marriage of a strange kind of convenience is getting old to both of them, to Aaron because Lila is finished acting like a trophy wife and to Lila because she's tired of bowing down to Aaron's dogmatic ways. 

Ginny is the lead detective on the trail of Lila and she doesn't miss a beat. Ginny is Lila's biggest obstacle to coming through this situation without being blamed for Aaron's disappearance/murder. Lila is an unreliable narrator but she has her reasons for everything that she does. In the end, I figured out of a lot of what was going on but that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story. It's all in the devious planning and plotting that the story holds my interest. I may not like Lila but I do admire her. And I'm definitely in the corner of a strong, smart, savvy detective like Ginny. 

Thank you to HarperCollins Publishers/William Morrow Paperbacks and NetGalley for this ARC.

Lila murdered her husband. Or did she?

Lila plans Aaron's death out for weeks and executes it flawlessly, or so she thinks. When she awakens the next morning, she expects people to be inundating the grieving widow with visits and phone calls in the wake of her husband's suicide, but all is quiet. That is, until the principal at Aaron's school shows up at Lila's house because Aaron has uncharacteristically not shown up for work and is not answering his cell. Lila is baffled. Aaron's body should have been found in his running car at the school, and instead, he is nowhere to be found.

A manhunt ensues and Lila is at the front and center of the investigation. Ginny, a seasoned, intelligent, and tenacious detective leads the case and instantly gets a bad vibe from the stoic and cold Lila. She suspects that much more lies beneath the surface of Lila and Aaron's relationship and that something drove Lila to murder her husband, but finding proof will be another story.

As notes begin to appear for Lila taunting her for botching Aaron's death, it becomes clear to her that her attempted murder failed and that Aaron is waiting for the right opportunity to attack. Lila planned for her escape out of her abusive relationship once, but can she do it again?

What a fantastic debut! This book had me on the edge of my seat and I absolutely loved that right away we knew Lila had killed (or tried to kill) her husband. I felt that this was a fairly unique approach that let the story develop in such an interesting way.

The book had me questioning everything and everyone even though we knew immediately that Lila had plotted Aaron's death. Was Aaron still alive? Why did Lila try to kill Aaron? Why wasn't Lila pretending to be upset about her "missing" husband? Was Aaron actually abusive or was there something else going on?

I really liked that the novel primarily focused on Lila's point of view, but also included Ginny's perspective occasionally as well as a podcast. The narrative also flash backed in time to help set the stage for how Lila went about murdering her husband. I thought the novel had enough side stories to keep me guessing and Kane ended up connecting everything flawlessly.

This is one I can't recommend enough!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for a copy of this novel.

A twisty dark tale of a husband intent on evil and. Aside with a plan to ensnare him in his dirty deeds. Masterful plot and well developed characters. A thriller for sure!

Pretty Little Wife was a book I couldn’t put down. A perfect escape. A suspenseful thrilling story about Lila Ridgefield and her seemingly perfect life. Her husband Aaron goes missing and she’s the prime suspect. I loved this cat and mouse story. I loved how the author slowly gave us pieces of the puzzle but in a way that we couldn’t read the pages fast enough. A great read and one that I would recommend to every thriller lover. If you loved his and hers by Alice Feeney. You’ll love this one. Thank you to @williammorrowbooks and @netgalley for my advanced copy. All opinions are my own

M is for marriage
M is for money
M could also be for MURDER

Aaron Ridgefield is a respectable teacher in a prestigious school in NYC. When he went missing, everyone who knew Aaron was devastated and wants answers. The only person who could answer that is his wife, Lila Ridgefield because it was Lila who dumped his body away.
She thought she concocted a flawless murder but when she found out that the body isn’t where she put it she knows someone is tracking her. She better figure out who before the nation turns against her.

This is Darby Kane’s debut novel and it was well crafted. The dialogue between the suspects and the investigators feel so real (raw). The shifting and cutting each other when [the characters are] speaking feel like I am there watching the whole scenario happen. I honestly did not see the twist coming. I thought that “oh this could be one of those mystery novels that are really great but very predictable” … BUT I WAS DEAD WRONG! (no pun intended)

At first, I find the novel quite slow but I think this was important because it makes us want to know more what happens to the next chapter. I am very fair as well when it comes to the characters in the novel, I treat them all equally… I DISLIKE THEM ALL.
But that is the thing, this book has flawed unlikable characters which makes it SO PERFECT!

I would love to thank Harper Collins, William Morrow and Net Galley for the ARC. It is always an honor to receive something from you. Thank you for sharing your blessing.

This is my honest review and I hope this helps future readers.

Buckle up and prepare yourself for a bumpy ride when you pick up this twisty story. I was riveted from the start and could not figure out exactly where it was going to end. The main character Lila isn’t your typical heroine. She’s been through a lot of trauma and comes off as calm, collected and cold. I liked her all the more because she was unique. As soon as I finished this book I looked up the author to see if there was more I had missed (sadly there was not). The premise was also intriguing and different from other domestic thrillers I’ve read. Lila murders her husband, sets up his body to be found, and then he is reported as missing and he and his car aren’t where she left them. Such a well written, original story - I hope more is forthcoming from Darby Kane.

This was a fast-paced read that introduced the mystery in the very beginning. It centers around Lila, who was seemingly in a happy marriage with Aaron, but as the book goes on, the reader realizes that there was more to it than meets the idea. The reader immediately knows that Lila believes she has killed her husband but his body wasn't found where she left it. The rest of the book fills in the gaps around what happened to make Lila make that decision, how she did it, and what was really going on.

I thought the mystery around this story was great- there were multiple ways the story could have gone and I was left questioning many things throughout the book. I kind of figured out who the villain was, but that was only one of the options I seriously considered, so I found the reveal deeply satisfying.

The thing I struggled with a little bit was the characterization- I felt like I knew Ginny, the police detective, the most, but I struggled a little bit with figuring out what made Lila tick. I believe this was intentional, as Ginny went along on this journey with me, but I found it somewhat unsettling. Likewise, I couldn't quite grip what kinds of things happened in Lila and Aaron's marriage to lead up to the ultimate betrayal point.

Overall, this was a fun read and one that I read through quickly because I couldn't wait to see what happened. I would recommend it to those who like mysteries and psychological thrillers. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Darby Kane is a pseudonym for a talented suspense author who knows how to keep you in her grip while writing her mysterious novel. Nothing is as it seems as the author reveals bits and pieces of the story as it progresses. Fine writing tells the story of not only a troubled marriage but a disturbing past for both the husband and wife. There are lots of plot twists as the story moves along. Excellent writing! #PrettyLittleWife #DarbyKane #NetGalley

"Pretty Little Wife" by Darby Kane is a chilling and twisty domestic thriller that kept me guessing from beginning to end. Lila and Aaron seem to have it all, but not everything is as it seems. Lila is in a psychologically abusive marriage to Aaron when she uncovers some damaging videos of him and some of his female students. They bring back bad memories of her childhood she decides to kill Aaron and be free of him once and for all. After she staged his murder to look like a suicide, his body goes missing and she starts to receive notes suggesting Aaron isn't dead after all. The story really gets interesting in the last third of the book, when Aaron gets tied into another mystery in the book. The story is told from the points of view of Lila and Ginny, the head detective on the case as they both try to throw the other of their game. I really liked Ginny as a character. I felt that she was well-developed and saw things from a variety of perspectives. She realized that there was more to the story than meets the eye. I hope that Darby Kane writes more books with her as a character.

Overall, an amazing first book! Pretty Little Wife was full of enough twists and turns to make your head spin right up to the shocking conclusion. I look forward to reading more from Darby Kane in the future and will be recommending this book to others.

I devoured this in two short nights! Pretty Little Wife follows Lila after she kills her husband, drives his body to his work, and waits for him to be found. She's planned how the whole thing will turn out and how all his transgressions will be revealed. Except that plan turns to shit when Aaron's body and his car disappear while Lila is left reeling but works to maintain her put together appearance under the steely eye of the investigators, the community, and Aaron's brother.

Aaron's disappearance is first linked to three other questionable disappearances through a true crime show and as this novel unfolds, we see that there may be more connecting those cases than meets the eye.

This was twisty, unexpected and just a plain awesome debut from Darby Kane!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC!

A great debut psychological thriller that keeps you guessing until the end. When Lila's husband Aaron goes missing, everyone wonders where this hometown hero may have gone. He's a beloved teacher and coach, a loving husband, and best friend to his brother, Jared. However, not everything is as it seems... This includes both Aaron and Lila's childhoods which very few people know, as well as their idyllic married life, until Detective Ginny starts digging up the dirt. Lila is the one most confused about Aaron's disappearance because she was the last one to see his body. So where is Aaron and what is going on with these other missing women from this small town?

I finished Pretty Little Wife by Darby Kane the day I saw it was one of the November choices for the Book of the Month Club. I wasn't surprised at all to see it had been chosen. It's a tightly woven murder mystery that is sure to please fans of the domestic suspense genre.


Right from the start, this novel hooked me. Lila is a trophy wife who is sick of taking her husband's abuse and finally decides to put an end to their marriage in the most vengeful way possible. She's plotted his murder out to the tiniest of details, but things do not go as planned. Instead of the police knocking on her door to tell her that her husband's body has been found, she answers it to find Aaron's boss instead. He tells her that Aaron didn't show up for work that day, which isn't a surprise to Lila. Dead men don't show up for work. What is a surprise, however, is that his car isn't where she left it and there is no sign of Aaron's body anywhere. Dead men also don't come back to life and drive away...or do they?
To make matters worse, Lila starts receiving threatening notes. She doesn't want to believe it's Aaron, but who else could possibly know what she tried to do? As if she doesn't have enough to worry about, Lila has become the target of a bulldog detective who isn't buying her clueless wife act. Lila feels the walls begin to close in around her as her husband's disappearance becomes connected to a series of missing women. She's not sure what to believe anymore, but one thing she knows for certain- if Aaron is still alive, he won't rest until he's killed her.

This novel was a thrilling ride from start to finish. I loved every twist and turn and even though I was able to figure out some of the ending, Kane did a wonderful job explaining all the whys and answering all the questions I had. The story was fast-paced throughout and I'd give it a solid 4.5 stars out of 5. My only complaint was in the characterization of Lila. Despite having valid reasons for portraying her as cold and unfeeling, she was just too hard a character to connect with. She was flat and lacked the depth I was really hoping for. If Kane had developed Lila the same way she did Ginny, the bulldog detective, then this would have easily been a 5/5. Despite that small critique, this was a gripping novel perfect for a chilly fall or winter night and I encourage you to pick up a copy if you're a fan of domestic suspense.

My Rating: ★★★★ 1/2 out of 5

*Thanks to the author, HarperCollins Publishers, and Netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Lila is a lucky lady. She has the perfect marriage. Until she discovers a shocking secret her husband was keeping. What’s a wife to do?🏻♀️

When her husband mysteriously vanishes, suspicious eyes turn toward her. But Lila knows she isn’t responsible for his disappearance…even though she was the last to see him. Well that doesn’t look good!

This is a debut thriller from a new talent that I’m sure will be rocking the thriller world over the next many years.
The characters were colorfully brought to life as the plot developed and played out perfectly. Well done!
I certainly look forward to more of her great work!

A thrilling buddy read with Susanne.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers - William Morrow Paperbacks for an ARC to read and review.

LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH THAT I ORDERED IT WITH BOOK OF THE MONTH AS WELL. SO SO SO GOOD. I loved the ride this book took me on. I need more now!

Pretty Little Wife starts off as your typical domestic thriller, where you have wife being gaslighted by her abusive husband. It escalates into an exciting murder mystery that keeps you guessing. This is a fast paced adventure that has many twists and turns so you don't see what is coming next. Darby Kane takes a typical domestic thriller plot trope and twists it into a fantastic story that you'll love.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

Diabolical. Truly heinous. Very sinister. Kane writes a thrilling yet sick plot. Lila is very cool, detached, and restrained. When her background is revealed it illustrates why she is detached. Except she has horrible taste in men. But she is smarter and more calculating than her opponents. I enjoyed the twists and bends in this story. During the confession scene I applauded one character's actions. I thought most of the characters got what they deserved.