I really liked the premise and I wanted to get into this - but a couple things snagged my focus. I felt like the main character (while intentionally cold and disconnected) was too hard to relate to - and it started to "feel" long at the mid-point. While I've seen mixed reviews on this thriller, it wasn't for me - but I appreciated the opportunity to read it!

My second most-read genre is suspense or thrillers after romance but I generally only read those written by women because I got tired of reading violence against women written by men. A delightful micro-subgenre (totally making this up here lol) is thrillers written by romance authors. We have Victoria Dahl writing as Victoria Helen Stone, Nalini Singh, and now HelenKaye Dimon writing as Darby Kane. Romance writers know what makes plots move forward and what keeps readers on their toes so to me, this just makes sense.

I found this book really suspenseful and filled with messy characters, which is exactly the kind of thing I like in both romance and suspense. Lila discovers her husband is trash so she kills him, and sets the scene perfectly for someone to find the body…but the body is gone. From there I pretty much couldn’t tell anything that was going to happen and I was surprised at every turn. My favorite piece that was included was that there’s a podcast happening at the same time as this because there are other disappearances that have happened in the area over the last few years. That felt like such an interesting and fun thing to include.

I judge suspense books differently than romance obviously – there’s no HEA here in that there’s no two (or more) characters living happily ever after here. But I judge suspense based on if the plot feels complete and if I’m satisfied by the ending and if enough of the threads are wrapped up. In Pretty Little Wife I was super surprised at the ending and more than satisfied. Darby Kane definitely has a future in this genre!

Rounding up to 5 stars for this psychological thriller that kept me turning pages until the very end. I loved that most chapters ended in such a way that you absolutely had to read what happened next. I'm very thankful for Kane not wrapping things up too quickly at the end; that's a criticism I've had about too many books lately.

This is a book where the truth comes out little by little. A much-loved high school teacher is missing and his odd, quiet, snobby? wife whom no one seems to know well is the likely answer to all of the questions. She knows more than she's letting on, but even she's left wondering where her husband has gone.

My thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you are looking for a domestic thriller that will leave your head bobbing from side to side this is it!! Fantastic debut by Darby Kane, she takes the reader on the wildest ride scattering little clues throughout the way that one doesn’t notice till the very end. This has more twists and turns than a carnival ride.
Lila is the perfect character that one loves to hate. She is the perfect wife to the charming Aaron that everyone adores. But wow, the secrets these two have. Enjoy the ride, it’s a fast one.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Marrow for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is one dark and twisted novel. Everyone is disturbed. There are not good guys here. The first half is more of a mystery, a whodunit that may remind people of Gone Girl. But then it shifts in a way that makes you go WTF??? but in a good way. I was hooked from beginning to end. This would be a killer (haha) movie. A must read.

started strong but didn't hold up for me.

It's a suspense. The usual thing: a wife, a husband, they look perfect on the outside. Yes to that trope? Then there's that tagline: there's more than one way to end a marriage. Yes to that? It's all so good, to be honest.

Pretty Little Wife follows Lila who found something from her husband that she shouldn't have. He tells her it's nothing. And she lives on with that thought until one day, her husband went missing. She was so sure, she left him and his car in the school parking, and yet he wasn't there. Told in alternating points of view of Lila and Ginny, the lead investigator of Aaron's disappearance, this book takes turns and really keeps you intrigued through and through.

The more I let this book sit through in my head, the more I think it's actually better than when I finished it. As I said, I like how it started. It was strong and it really kept me intrigued. It also features a podcast which somehow made the story more interesting because it added more layers to the mystery aspect especially since it also talks about Aaron's disappearance.

I find it quite hard to talk about this book without giving anything away since it's a mystery thriller but here are a few more things for me: (1) it talks quite a bit about gaslighting and it emphasizes on it a lot, (2) went over women being smart and deserves to get the same treatment as men (it focused so much on how smart and better women are that at some point, it makes me feel that it wants to say that women are better than men, but I don't want to put it that way) I generally like them both, Lila the former lawyer with a dark past and Ginny, the investigator who want to see justice happen, and in the end, (3) I didn't really care about the mystery, the resolution, or the reveal. Aside from the fact that I saw it coming, I wasn't really on board with what's happening. So in general, it's just a me-thing.

OVERALL, Pretty Little Wife is a mystery/suspense with an intriguing plot. It kept me hooked until the end because I wanted to be sure of the ending. The podcast aspect, while I feel sometimes lacking, was a really good aspect of the novel. Read this if: (1) you want strong women main characters, (2) you're intrigued by the plot, and (3) you're up for the usual thriller/suspense trope.

This one has been everywhere so I’m going to keep it brief. I really enjoyed it, but I found it to be a little long. I did it as part as an IRL buddy read and we both agreed too long, excellent short chapters, did a great job of keeping our interest.

Overall I am glad I read, I liked the twist, but considering how long it was I thought the ending and the main twist could have been less rushed.

Rating: 5 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book: Pretty Little Wife
Release Date: Available Now!!! (Released on Dec 29, 2020)
Author: Darby Kane
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers

Sipping Synopsis: Lila Ridgefield at best is an elusive, quiet trophy wife- at worst she might just be responsible for her missing husband. Eddie has gone missing and the entire town, including his dedicated brother, are turning over every rock to find this teacher. But why doesn’t Lila seem concerned? 🤔

Final sipping thoughts: Pretty Little Wife is a slow building, twisty punch you in the jaw type of read. I had it figured out 100 times and 100 times I was wrong. Kane has you on the edge of your seat trying to put the puzzle pieces together. As soon as you think you have the puzzle completed, you find that you missed an end piece and have to fit that in. One little nugget that I love was the police officer Ginny Davis, shout out to Darby for the line where Officer Davis must hold her anger back so not to be seen as the “angry black woman.” The last 20% of the book had my heart pounding and my eyes could not read the words fast enough. This is my first 5 “glasses of wine” SHOUTOUT!

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley, @HarperCollinsPublisher, and @hkdimon for an advanced copy of @PrettyLittleWife

#PrettyLittleWife #DarbyKane #HarperCollins #HarperCollinsPublisher #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers

CW:: rape, grooming, kidnapping, murder, abuse
I was in such a thriller slump for a while, feeling like every thriller I read was starting to feel exactly the same. I’m so happy that I’ve read a ton of good ones lately that have proved there are still ways to set thrillers apart from all the rest and this is definitely one of them!

Summary: Lila found evidence that her husband, a high school teacher, is having sex with students. When she confronts him, he tries to gaslight his way out of it, then physically assaults her as a threat. Her solution? Kill him and release the evidence. Only things don’t go quite as she planned. Now her husband is missing, the police are looking at her, and someone who potentially knows what she did - or tried to do - is messing with her. As more pieces of the puzzle come together, Lila starts to realize that her husband might have been involved in something even worse than she thought.

This book is proof that a thriller can have elements of sexual assault without the need for it to be center-stage, graphic, and clearly there for shock value. Also, I LOVED the message at the end of this around focusing on the survivors of a story rather than the perpetrators. This book was filled to the brim with strong badass women fighting back against rape culture, sexism and misogyny and I LOVED IT.
It’s only not 5 stars for me because a LOT happened in the end that made things feel confusing for me.
Highly recommend!

Unfortunately I was not able to make it through most of this book. The premise sounded amazing and the idea was pretty solid. However this failed a little on the execution. It was very repetitive with the characters flaws and brokenness. I had really hoped the story would drive forward a lot more than it did.

This book was great! At first I could not stand the main character, but it all made sense by the end.

Pretty little wife was so full of unreliable characters and twisty plot lines that it had me guessing the entire time. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, I learn more and continue to be stumped on who I can trust.

Lila’s marriage to Aaron isn’t like most other marriages. While Lila loves her husband, she also needs autonomy. She’s willing to put up with long fishing or camping weekends. She enjoys the time and space to herself. She trained as a lawyer, but now she works for a local realtor. Aaron is a beloved high school teacher and coach. Their marriage works for them.

Until Lila finds the video. The video changes everything for her.

And then he goes missing.

There were already 3 missing college-aged women in the area. A local podcast had been reporting on the 3 women. And when it becomes news that Aaron left for work one morning but never showed up at school, she starts reporting on his disappearance as well.

Senior Investigator Ginny Davis has a feeling about this case. She’d been pulled off the investigation into the 3 missing women—there was too much press, so the FBI had taken it over. But Aaron’s disappearance? That one is hers, and she’s committed to finding answers. Her instincts all tell her that Lila knows more about where he is, or maybe she was the one responsible for his going missing in the first place. But she’s definitely not letting this one get away.

Lila, meanwhile, is trying to figure out where Aaron has disappeared to. She knows that the video of him having sex with one of his students is damning. She has secrets too, ones that make her look even more guilty than she already does. But she doesn’t want all her secrets coming out. She wants to maintain some of her privacy. But when Aaron’s phone is discovered, and the GPS used to find a remote cabin, the entire search for Aaron takes a different direction, and Lila realizes she may have never known her husband at all. He was a pedophile, she knows that now. Is it possible that he’s also responsible for those 3 missing women? Is it possible that he’s also a monster? Could she be in danger, for what she knows? Could she be in danger for what she doesn’t know?

Pretty Little Wife is an amazing ride of a thriller, with twists and turns that pile on themselves, whipping you from one extreme to the next. The secrets that people carry through this story will surprise you, shock you, and wreck you. You may guess some of the surprises that come at you in Pretty Little Wife, but I can guarantee that you will not see them all.

I really liked Pretty Little Wife. There is a certain amount of darkness, because there are 3 missing girls and a psychopath in this story, but there is also a lot to like. Lila is a strong, independent woman, and while she is far from perfect, she makes for a fascinating character. CID officer Ginny Davis is also a fantastic character to follow, and watching the two of them spar is one of the best things in this novel. Author Darby Kane is definitely one to watch, with intelligence, imagination, and depth. This one needs to be on your TBR pile!

Egalleys for Pretty Little Wife were provided by William Morrow Paperbacks through NetGalley, with many thanks.

"Pretty Little Wife" is a well written story which draws you in and holds you as you read. Darby Kane does a great job creating a character you cannot help but feel sympathy, and empathy for, while questioning her choices, and yet rooting for her in the end.

Loved this! Super fast paced, couldn’t put it down. Kept my guessing until almost the very end! As someone who reads a lot of thrillers I love it when I have an ending that surprises me!

Lila Ridgefield's husband is missing. A beloved high school teacher, his boss, colleagues, and brother cannot believe that Aaron Payne would just disappear. He's certainly not the type to simply not show up for work one day. As for his wife, Lila is known more for her cold and quiet demeanor (and, let's be honest, her beauty). She's also pretty confused, because the last time she saw Aaron, she was rather convinced she was looking at his dead body. So where's his car she left behind--and the body? Investigator Ginny Davis is called to look into Aaron's disappearance. At first it seems unrelated to that of a missing local student. But the more Ginny digs, the more she starts to wonder. And the more Lila digs, the more she fears her husband is still alive.

"Despite all her careful planning, he was gone. She had to find Aaron before he found her."

Well, this was quite a book. The beginning was a bit slow for me--it took too long to get to the exciting part, and it was repetitive. It felt like bits and pieces were rehashed over and over. I wanted to shake Lila and tell her to get on with it!

But, once everything gets moving, this is quite an exciting thriller. The last fourth of the story especially is incredibly electrifying and, for the most part, keeps you guessing. (I had a decent idea about whodunnit, but it didn't diminish my enjoyment at all.) I loved the concept of a mystery where the woman kills her husband, yet the main story is, surprise: he disappears anyway. The dynamic between cunning Lila, whom you're never sure you can trust, and Ginny, who is a straightforward and honest investigator, is excellent. I enjoy a book with strong female protagonists and these two are excellent.

Overall, even though this dragged for a bit, it's certainly worth a read. For one thing, it's different, which is so refreshing in the thriller genre. It's also dark, intriguing, and surprising. 3.5 stars, rounded to 4 here.

WOW! This was quite the debut for a thriller!

My goodness Darby Kane... where have you been hiding ?! I have been so picky with my thrillers but man this was a. goodie! I can definitely see this as a top contender for thrillers this year.

This had characterization that was very strong and a plot that was extremely well played out!

I definitely am looking forward to more of her work!!

Strong 4 stars!!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Harper for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: 12/29/20
Published to GR: 1/4/21

4.5 stars

Holy smokes, that was good!

“Pretty Little Wife,” Darby Kane’s thrilling novel of domestic suspense, has kicked off my 2021 with a bang. A very loud, kick-the-door-down kind of bang. A bang that will be ringing in my ears for quite some time, unable to be forgotten.

Lila Ridgefield is the quintessential “pretty little wife.” Married to Aaron, a beloved high school teacher in Ithaca, her life is enviable to those on the outside. But life is not always as wonderful as it seems, of course, and when Aaron suddenly vanishes, the town is thrown into a frenzy.

Because Aaron’s disappearance is not the first in Ithaca. His is only the most recent in a string of three women who have mysteriously vanished over the last few years. With the public demanding answers, the police are scrambling to find a link – if one even exists.

The one person NOT seemingly worried about Aaron? Lila – his “pretty little wife.”

But you see, she IS worried. Only for a different reason. For not only is Lila the last person to see Aaron alive – she is also the last person to see him DEAD. And now, his body is no longer where she left it.

Oh, what a tangled, dark, and contorted web Kane has weaved inside the pages of “Pretty Little Wife.” And the web begins with one of the most gripping opening scenes in a suspense novel that I have ever read.

Seriously. I write this with the utmost sincerity. The novel’s initial chapter is one of the best I have ever come across. It leaves you completely breathless because it’s written so amazingly well. Within a span of a few sentences, Kane instantly drops you into the midst of Lila’s complex mind, and then she takes off running at top speed, leaving you flailing behind.

The novel is intense, exciting, and smart. There is never a dull moment, and the pages turn at an astonishing rate because it is nearly impossible to put the book down.

And the story will keep you on your toes. It is tightly written and seamlessly plotted, and there are unexpected twists and fun red herrings galore, making it so I never felt confident in any of my arm-chair theories. Even when I finally did put the correct pieces into place, I continued to waffle back and forth . . . and back and forth. . . and then, back and forth again, due to Kane’s superb skills of misdirection.

“Pretty Little Wife,” however, would not be the exceptional novel that it is without Lila. She is enigmatic and fascinating. Extremely intelligent and resourceful. Focused and strong. My personal feelings for her ran the gamut while I read the novel, as she is so complex. But ultimately, I always liked her, and I couldn’t stop myself from rooting for her, regardless of her cool demeanor, misdeeds, and questionable morals.

In fact, I enjoyed all the women in the novel. Kane injects every one of her female characters with a cleverness, a fierceness, and a formidableness that is not consistently seen in this genre.

And had it not been for a slightly too-quick final showdown that contained one or two implausible actions of the characters, I would have awarded “Pretty Little Wife” a full five stars.

Because it’s THAT addictive. It’s THAT compelling. It’s THAT excellent.

Do not miss it.


My sincerest appreciation to William Morrow and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy. All opinions included herein are my own.

*This review has been posted on Bantering Books (my blog), Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble (still pending; not yet posted), Edelweiss+, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook (my personal page, Bantering Books page, and various private groups such as William Morrow Scene of the Crime, Between Friends Book Club, Book Bloggers, and Book Blogger Group).

Available Now!

Pretty Little Wife starts out a slow burn thriller, and as a reader with a bit of self diagnosed "Readers ADD" (it's a thing, join my support group), I started this book four different times before my friend told me to stop stalling. Lila's husband Aaron is missing. The big surprise is that he's actually missing, because she knows where she left him. The thing is, neither Lila nor Aaron is a very likable character. Honestly, I didn't care that he was gone, so I wasn't very invested in what kind of misfortune truly happened to him. If you can hold out until the 60% mark, the story's pace really picks up speed. The book does finish very strong, leading me to round up my 3.5 stars to a solid 4.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, William Morrow, for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This started off SO strong for me, the premise and set up were fantastic! Lila and Aaron are married and have what’s presented as a strained marriage, to say the least. Fast forward to Aaron going missing and it’s not that Lila is upset that he might be dead, it’s that he SHOULD be dead because that’s how she thought she left him....so what happened, where is he, and more importantly who possibly knows what she did?
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That set up is brilliant! I was all in for the first half...but then, my interest began to wane. I really liked the detective Ginny and I was intrigued by Lila and there weren’t even that many characters to keep track of but I started to lose interest and get confused as to who’s talking, who’s the backstory I was getting etc. And I’m not one for a lot of lengthy backstory, for me, it bogs the story down although I understand the need for it especially in a story like this. However, I started to skim, never a good sign, and found the resolution underwhelming. I think I thought this was more of a thriller as well but I’d put it in the solid mystery category.