Member Reviews
Maddie's life is idyllic, she lives on the outskirts of a beautiful village with her husband Richard, in a comfortable home, has a daughter, Kylie off at collage, and a quiet peaceful life.
But that all changes when a her friends husband knocks on her door, late one night, with his dog by his side and tell her he's found a body in the river, not far from her door, and he needs her to call the police.
The body, is that of twelve year old Alice, and the last person known to have seen her that night, turns out to be Maddie's husband Richard, who never returned home from a trip out to visit a friend.
When Richards car is found abandoned and tucked away, as if purposefully hidden, with Alice's headband dropped beside it's wheel, Maddie is left reeling. Did her husband have a part in all this? Soon the man she thought she knew so well, begins to unravel before her eyes.
This is a gripping well written book, that keeps you guessing and is easy to lose yourself in. I know I spent half the night absorbed by it, fighting to keep my eye's open so I could read, just one more chapter, and then grabbed it up again as soon as I woke.
The characters are well developed and believable and the small village dynamics are eerily accurate, and I should know, I live in a village just like it.
I loved Maddie and really felt for her as her whole life unravels around her, and the village she had once been so involved with begins to turn its back on her.
You can feel her heartbreak and anguish radiating from the page and I longed to dive in and hug her close and give her the support she was so seriously lacking.
Kerry is a master with words and writes in a simple style that is easy to sink into and lose yourself within the story, I love it when a writer can do this.
I am so grateful to NetGalley, Kerry Wilkinson and his publishers for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review and I will definitely be reading more books by this author.
Kerry Wilkinson has a gift of writing women characters that feel so real and relatable you end up completely engaged in whatever story he concocts.
And here we also have a great plot. It's for sure surprising and sad but very innovative. I was never able to guess the culprit or the motivations entirely (I was close but still surprised).
The description of how life is in such a small community was also greatly done, and there's some awesome character growth here, all around.
I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
This is one of my favorite genres to read, so I was excited to check out this new-to-me author.
I enjoyed the fact that this story was told from multiple POV's, as that gave me a much more rounded view of everything. Madeline is an unreliable narrator, which added to the suspense. The pace was perfect to keep me turning the pages. There were enough twists and red herrings to keep me guessing.
The last chapter did feel a bit out of place and unnecessary. There's a secondary storyline going on, and I felt the book would've been stronger without this final chapter, as it didn't seem to clearly tie in to the rest of he story. Some parts were a wordy and could've done with a tighter edit.
Overall, this was a quick, enjoyable read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for gifting me a digital ARC of the new book by Kerry Wilkinson - 4.5 stars but a well-written mystery to keep you intrigued!
The story starts with Richard, husband to Maddy, picking up 12-year-old Alice on a cold winter's night to give her a ride home. Except that she is later found clinging to life and Richard never came home. Suddenly, the town's close knit circle turns on Maddy with everyone blaming Richard for her disappearance. Maddy doesn't know what to think but thoughts of Richard's first wife's untimely death starts to weigh on her. Is Richard really the man she thought he was? Interspersed with the present day events are glimpses of Maddy's past.
This book kept me glued to the pages to see what would happen. There are plenty of twists and turns that will keep you guessing and characters that will have you questioning their behavior. You really feel for Maddy as she waits for word of Richard and starts questioning everything she believed. Maddy's past also had a great influence on her personality and behavior. Great read!
This is a gripping psychological thriller that will have you guessing all the way to the end.it was gripping I was glued to the plot i enjoyed the book
Its full of red herrings and twists and turns. The story is fasted pasted it hooks you good strong character
What .My Husband Did is a heart-racing thriller written by Kerry Wilkinson.
I was chilled right through to my bones reading this compelling novel. Alice, a 12-year-old has been left for dead in a field. At the same time, Richard, Maddy's husband, has not arrived home from work at the expected time. A knock at the front door brings the news that Alice was last seen getting into Richard's car...
This speedily paced story has a fantastic, well executed plot and I was totally engrossed from the opening chapters. Kerry Wilkinson's particular style of writing had me fairly certain that I had everything figured out and then I was hit over the head with some great misdirection when the twists started to materialise. With some highly believable characters this novel for me was a compulsive and clever story and I loved the surprising ending. Well worth the five stars! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bookouture via NetGalley and this is my own unbiased opinion.
A tight knit community is overturned when twelve year old Alice is found left in a ravine fighting for her life. Richard was the last one to see her alive and he offered her a ride home that fateful night. Now Richard himself has been missing for days and his wife Maddie is trying to put the pieces together.
This book was a quick read. I thought I had the ending figured out but there were some twists near the end I didn’t see coming. It’s a stark reminder that even though relationships and people seem to be ‘alright’ we never really know what goes on behind closed doors.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC for my honest review.
Having to face the concern of why her husband Richard disappeared and the almost dead schoolgirl, Alice, pointing at him as the last person who saw her, along with all the neighbours’ suspicious resentment and even her family members, it’s not an easy life for Maddie.
This is a very enjoyable and entertaining domestic thriller that kept me guessing throughout the whole story. There are many occasions when I found the next scenes predictable but there are also some that were certainly unexpected and that’s a good point for me as the author has managed to keep me invested and intrigued till the last page.
A great read from a new to me author that I’m looking forward to his other addicting stories.
Maddy comes home one night to an empty house. Her husband Richard is nowhere about. Wondering what could have delayed him there `s a knock at the door.
Thinking Richard has forgotten his key she opens it to let him in, only to discover one of her neighbours in a distressed state telling her to ring for help, hes found the body of a child face down in a ditch.
The child turns out to be 12 year old Alice, her mother works at the local garage. She has been badly beaten and though unconscious is still alive.
Richard still hasn`t returned home the next day and as the police begin their inquiries he becomes the main suspect when a witness says they saw Alice getting into his car.
Of course the locals in the village are only to happy to accept Richard was involved and Maddy finds her life turned upside down by the gossip and rumours.
Although she doesn`t want to believe Richard could be involved where is he ?
This is a gripping read with plenty twists and turns, it kept me guessing through till the end.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the chance to read this as an ARC, highly recommend this one I loved it.
A small town full of secrets. Maddie is the central thread in this story and when her husband goes missing everything starts to unravel. Well written but author seems to want to add all the usual check marks of a psychological thriller. What you get is red herrings and characters that we could have done without.
Thanks to Bookouture publishing and Netgalley for an ARC.
Maddy and Richard live in a small village town where everyone knows each-other and where everyone knows everyone else’s business. When little Alice is found near death and Richard missing people are quick to put two and twee together and accuse him of hurting the poor girl. Maddy being the one left behind to answer police questions and to get the accusatory stares from people she once thought friends.
I liked the character of Maddy, I found her to be strong, loyal and not easily swayed by others. Although we see her questioning the motives of her husband having Alice in his car she is not quick to simply condemn him also.
I enjoyed the suspense throughout the book especially when Maddy receives a burner phone with messages giving her clues as to what could have happened.
The book is written with two time lines - present day and back when Madeline was a teenager. The earlier timeline gave us a look into the way she looks at the crime and why she doesn’t simply believe what is evident to everyone else.
Another quick read from me full of suspense and a good twist at the end. I gives this book 4 ⭐️.
Alice, whose just twelve years old, is left for dead, lying face down in a stream. A local man, Richard, has gone missing the same night. Alice had been seen getting into Richard's car. Now, rumours are flying and asunptions are being made. Maddy, Richard's wife, can't believe he would do this to Alice, but things aren't looking good for Richard.
The story is told through the past and present format. The past is about Maddy's childhood. The story is told from Maddy's perspective. I was quickly pulled into the story, fully invested to find out who could
D do this to a child, but then the story dipped a bit in the middle and the pace slowee down. Luckily the pace picked up towards the end. There's .ots of twist and turns in this intriguing plotline.
I would like to thank #NetGalley, #Bookouture and the author #KerryWilkinson for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
If you've never lived in a small town, part of this book will be hard for you to understand. When something bad happens, as when young Alice is assaulted and left for dead, popular opinion in a small town will fall hard on the first suspect, because if it wasn't him (Richard in this case) it may be someone closer to their own home. There is very little room for innocent until proven guilty. But why would his own wife suspect him? The answer to that question comes in the flashes we see of how she lived when very young. Maddie sees everything through the eyes of that young girl as she tries to find the truth of what happened to Alice and why Richard is missing.
Kerry Wilkinson is one of my "must read" authors. I'm a loyal reader of his series books and am always happy to find a stand alone such as this one where we get to see a skilled author flex their writing muscles in different ways. I have yet to meet anyone who reads Wilkinson's books who would not give them 5 stars.
I love Kerry Wilkinson’s style of writing and have read many of his books and loved them all and this is no exception. It’s a fast paced storyline that gripped me from the first page and I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen. A few red herrings thrown in makes for a great book. If you haven’t read any of this authors other books I highly recommend them, you won’t be disappointed.
This is my first read from this author and I would definitely read more! I was kept guessing and I always enjoy multiple POV in a story. You don't want to believe the husband is capable, but maybe he is, but maybe he isn't. Madeline is a questionable narrator which adds to the suspense!
I loved this book. Very fast paced and the entire book takes place in about a week's time, for the most part. I had no idea what was actually really happening until I was about 3/4's of the way done with the book. Very hard to put down and just when I thought I knew what was happening, all of the weird little pieces started to come together. I love when books are written this way and it was so much fun to read.
When little Alice is found brutally injured, you will think, who would do this to a helpless girl? WHY? What did she do to deserve this? Maddy wants to believe that her husband Richard wouldn't be capable of such an act, but where is he? Why isn't he at home? Brutal attacks don't happen in small towns such as these.
I always love books with different POV or dual timelines, in which this is set.
I completely felt for Maddy this entire book and loved how Kerry developed all the main characters,
This is one book you will not want to miss!
I really enjoyed reading this book, Maddy wants to believe that her husband Richard is not capable of the awful thing that people are accusing him of but the evidence is building. Deep dark secrets are revealed and life in Leavensfield may never be the same! This is a thriller that keeps you thinking right from page one and it continues all the way up to the last page. Once you think you have figured out who did it the story takes a turn and it looks like it was someone else. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is my first Read from Kerry Wilkinson.
This is a gripping psychological thriller that will have you guessing all the way to the end.
Its full of red herrings and twists and turns. The story is well paced.
I've found a new author that I like to read and will continue to read more books from him.
Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for the eARC in return for my honest review.
What I Liked:
▪️ This book takes place in a small town in the UK with plenty of small town drama between the residents. I loved this angle!
▪️ Lots of twists and suspense that shocked me. I didn’t see a lot of it coming! Sometimes with thrillers you can anticipate what will happen, or even figure out the ending in advance, but I definitely didn’t with this one!!
▪️ I read this within two days! I couldn’t put it down as I needed to know how the book ended. I needed to know what happened!!
▪️ Lots of suspicious characters that you start questioning and wondering if they’re as genuine as they appear.
What I Didn’t Like…
▪️ The very last chapter. It felt misplaced and unnecessary to the story. There is a secondary story line that takes place and flashbacks to the main character, Maddy’s, past with her father. The entire backstory left me feeling confused and unsure how exactly it tied in with the main story.
▪️ At times the writing felt too wordy and I found myself skipping through sections.
While I didn’t love the last chapter, I still really enjoyed this book! I definitely would recommend it to others.