Thanks net galley for letting me read an early copy of this great book, I could not put it down even though I did not want to know anything more about Daniel. Tess loved Daniel so.much, and when he told her they were leaving London to go to a beautiful house in Bath as he had a new job as a doctor in a hospital in Bath. Tess loved London and her job as a nurse, but she would follow Daniel anywhere.
She hated the house from the very beginning, and the furniture. Then Daniel started telling her about how she should dress and bought her awful clothes and perfume.
Daniel then got worse, he became violent and Tess was afraid he might kill her.
What a great story and what a sad person Daniel was.

Following a whirlwind romance, Daniel (a renowned physician) and Tess are married. Both met and worked at the same hospital, but now Daniel has taken a new position and they have to move. However, they move to the house that has been in Daniel's family (untouched) for seven generations. (Far from London, where Tess and Daniel met)...

Daniel, abruptly, wants to change Tess. He makes this abundantly clear the day the two move into his 7 bedroom mansion. This, from the way Tess dresses, her way of cooking, her personal choices - even her decorum. Daniel wants his "model wife". Afraid that Daniel may leave her, Tess goes along with Daniel's "wishes" (actually, demands).
..
Martha King, now in her 80's, knows something about Daniel and is observing the couple...

An excellent depiction of a controlling relationship in which the wife eventually becomes afraid for her welfare and maybe even her life...

Many Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for a read that was difficult to put down!

Tess is the type of woman who should know better. A competent nurse, a young woman steeped into the London life. She did know better but chose to ignore it. While I was gripped from the beginning by an intriguing plot, the behavior of Tess mystified me. Yes, we all blindly fall in love, but marrying a man after meeting him a few months ago, moving to another city so he can take a new job as a surgeon,, come on. Tess turns into a simpering, obedient stepford wife hours after arriving at the already furnished mansion her husband Daniel, purchased without her knowledge. First rule of thumb, run when he firsts hurts you. or lies to you. Second rule of thumb, remember rule one. But oh no, Tess wants to find out why he has suddenly had this Jeckyl and Hyde change. I was fully immersed, waiting for her too take charge and discover the truth we expect to learn from all the clues in the home. Tess keeps acquiescing to him and I was so irritated I stopped reading for a; hour or so, but was so into the story I had to go back and finish. This could have been a great book for me but I lost interest in Tess. Perhaps I was supposed to. Perhaps her character was deliberately vague and wishywashy, but I doubt it. Now I doubt myself for not rooting for her, but how could I?

This book was impossible to put down! Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop and had to find out what happened next! Twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat! Highly recommended!

I’m in two minds about this book.
On the one hand, I’ve not been able to put it down. It gripped me right from the start with the unknown danger one female was in. We then meet two more females and don’t have a clue how they are connected or if any of the women we have met so far are the same woman. It was enthralling right from the start.
On the other hand, the main protagonist Tess was just so annoying. A lot of the plot just didn’t make sense, and the actions of many of the characters were slightly bewildering.
Tess learns pretty quickly into her whirlwind marriage that her husband isn’t who she thought he is and things take a rapid turn for the worse. However, she stays put and continues to allow him to deal out his punishments. She doesn’t stand up for herself, nor does she justify staying because she loves him as you would expect. All she wants to do is uncover the truth even if that means she doesn’t survive. She was a young and capable woman; there was no need for her to have allowed this level of abuse to happen so quickly without at least questioning it at the beginning.
When she does finally come to her senses, they seem to leave her not long after, and she still makes some questionable decisions. Her mind was as befuddled as mine was reading this.
You really have to concentrate at the end to follow what has happened and who everyone is. I wasn’t sure if it was meant to be a dream sequence or whether it really happened. It was all very confusing.
I can’t decide how many stars to give this book. For the plot holes and annoying protagonist, I want to give it three. However, I wasn’t able to put it down, wanting to find out how it would end and that usually equals four stars. I think I am going to base this on the ending being a disappointment and the fact I’m left wondering whether I should have even bothered persevering with it (luckily it was fast-paced so it didn’t feel like a chore). So, I am settling on three, which is a real letdown from this author. I have read her other two books and thoroughly enjoyed them; this one didn’t have the same magic, unfortunately.

After a confronting opening scene in which a woman is bludgeoned to death while shielding her young child we get to the meat of this story. Note - the violence is not actually described but rather implied so not as triggering as it could be. Following a whirlwind romance 28 year old nurse, Tess, marries 40 year old vascular surgeon, Daniel. They have a short honeymoon and then uproot their lives in London and move into a gracious home in Bath where Daniel has a new post at the hospital.

Tess is surprised at the house (massive) and even more surprised that Daniel won’t allow anything to be changed even though it is all very dated and dreary. That is the first clue that all is not well. Closely following is the second clue when Daniel comes home to find Tess in her pyjamas. He’s not happy! On the next day many packages are delivered. Tess is delighted until she realises that all the new and expensive clothing therein is drab and matronly. Things go rapidly downhill from there as we knew they would. While Tess is being terrorised by her husband, elderly lady, Martha, keeps an eye on Tess and the house. She tells her kindly boarder, Jim, that “he” is back. But Martha has a touch of dementia because of course “he” cannot possibly be back - can he?

By now you are starting to make some guesses which are probably right because, while the story was interesting enough, there was nothing new or unique about it. The themes have been done many times before and there were few surprises. The main surprise being that Tess stayed with Daniel. Despite thinking about leaving, she didn’t. In fact Tess came across as quite weak. I know many women become conditioned to be victims and have their confidence stripped away but that happens over time. Tess and Daniel had only been together a few months, Nevertheless the writing was good and the characters, apart from Daniel, were likeable and mostly relatable. This book would appeal to readers who have maybe not read as many psychological thrillers as I have or who don’t like their stories too dark. Thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and Liz Lawler for providing a copy. My opinions are my own.

Tess has married Daniel after only a few short months, after leaving London and moving to Bath they live in a huge old house.

Daniel is a respectable surgeon and Tess starts working at the hospital, but won't let on Daniel is her husband.

Straight away he is showing his true colours and not the man she married.

What happened in that house years ago?

This is a great psychological thriller, keeps you on your toes and page turning just wanting to know, chilling and heartbreaking.

Highly recommended.

What a great book from this author it drew me in from the very first page until the last and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. It was extremely well written with good characters although I wanted to give Tess a thoroughly good slap.

I can thoroughly recommend this book and I look forward to the next one.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I really wanted to like this book , and whilst the premise was good I just couldn't get on with how stupid the main character was . I was so frustrated that it did affect my enjoyment . Tess has married Daniel in a whirlwind romance . He is a respected cardiac surgeon she a nurse . They move to Bath for his work and that's when things start getting strange . They move into a really old fashioned big house and Daniel will not let Tess change anything at all , not even wash the curtains .... Hmmmmm Tess should be smelling a rat by now !!!!!!
He doesn't gradually start to coerce and control her its pretty much overnight . He disapproves when she gets a new job as he wants to start a family so he jeopardises this and she knows it and still the alarm bells are not ringing . He takes her phone and bankcard and still ............

This is what I found so frustrating , Tess was a capable confident young women and yet she stays , suffers terrible physical and emotional abuse which occurs over a really short period of time I know that domestic abuse happens and it can take all kind of guises but . It just didn't feel believable to me .

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of The Next Wife!!!

This book will hook you right from the first page. What if you married the perfect person and later found out that everything you though you knew was a lie?

This book is a psychological thriller that will have you guessing until the end. Well worth the read. There is domestic abuse in this book for anyone who needs that warning though.

Thanks again for the advanced copy.

What a ride!!! I could not put this one down.
Wow... I want more!!! Draws you in like no other. Best book I've read in awhile. Psychological thriller at its best. Will be watching this Author.
A must put on your to read list you wont be disappointed.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

The Next Wife is a highly tense psychological thriller. It’s dark, violent and scary. I had my hands clenched for main character, Tess, throughout. The story was also a great exploration in how someone can get trapped in an abusive relationship. After all, Daniel seemed to be the perfect man.

Martha, the character who made up a part of the supporting cast was a lovable older lady who I could really sympathise with. The way her worsening dementia was written really tugged at my heart. I read the chapters told from her perspective with eagerness, waiting for the mystery to be unlocked.

From a technical view, I read that the author was a nurse and this shows throughout the book. With both Tess and Daniel being in the medical profession, I really appreciated the interesting medical scenes.

If you love a psychological thriller that will keep you up at night, this is the one! It also felt realistic which made it all the more scary. It’s hard to comprehend that people who are that cruel really do exist. Thoroughly recommended!

A very well deserved 5 stars for this one, I knew it when I was just 13% in, loved every minute of this book. Total page turner I really struggled to put it down. Tess starts to see her new husbands true colours only months after being married, lies, deceit, controlling mind games, this book has it all. Highly highly recommend.

Delightful psychological thriller that examines the human condition. I really enjoyed reading this book I would highly recommend it.

This was an engrossing and suspenseful read.

Obsessions. Lies. Deceit. A unraveling of a marriage to someone you thought you knew.

It grabbed me from the first page and I could barely put it down - and I have a hard time reading thrillers before bed. The descriptions throughout this book were so atmospheric.

The plot was well crafted. There is nothing I love more than a solid domestic thriller. This was a page turner and a perfect read for Fall.
Special thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book grabbed me from the first page and kept my attention until I finished. It’s very gripping and chilling, but a must finish to find all answers! My first read by this author, but so glad I own her others, as it definitely won’t be my last! Thrill ride of chills, twists, and shocks! Highly, highly recommend, but not prior to bedtime, as I promise you’ll be up all night trying to finish! Character development was fantastic, very well written, full of suspense, and unputdownable!!

Will buzz around and use lower Amazon reviewer number on release date!

Wow I read this book in a few hours on the sofa as I couldn’t bare to put it down. I loved it this is a tale of a dark and twisted man who’s true colours don’t come out until Tess has already uprooted her life to Bath to be with her new husband. As his behaviour slowly spirals out of control she starts to question if she really knows him at all and when a stranger turns up at the door telling her to ask him about his first wife Tess’s life starts to implode and she’s not sure if she will get out alive. A totally thrilling dark read about obsession.

#TheNextLife #NetGalley
Lawler reels me in from the first page and kept me awake all night until I read its outstanding climax.
Everyone wants to marry a good girl or a good boy but what if they're not what they say they're. What would you do?
This is a story about a wife, a husband and how a wife is trapped in a marriage and wants her freedom. What happened to his first wife?
This is somewhat like Behind Closed Doors and The End of Her but it's final twist was original.
I loved the characters, narration, dialogues and ending.
It's scenes are it's main strength.
I'm doing more promotion on its release date among my fellow Authors Bloggers Friends Family and followers.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me an advance copy of this outstanding psychological thriller.