I flew through this novel in less than 24 hours. The Serial Killer's Wife is an engaging crime thriller that follows Beth Hardcastle after her husband, Tom, is taken into police custody for a suspected violent crime. Beth struggles to continue to run her business, take care of their young daughter, and navigate the media attention her husband's case has attracted throughout the story. Just when you think you understand what is happening, there is a new development in the case against Tom. The plot will keep you on your toes up until the very last page and thriller fiction lovers will enjoy reading this one.

The Serial Killer’s Wife Kindle Edition

by Alice Hunter  (Author)  Format: Kindle Edition

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary eARC. I am choosing to leave a fair and honest review.

This is a good initial book from Ms. Hunter. Centered around Beth, the wife of Tom, as she struggles to make sense of the news that he is being charged with the murder of his previous girlfriend, Katie. Filled with British cool, both in terms of attitude and style, the story moves at a decent clip as the story unfolds.

Set in the suburb of Lower Trew, the story is filled with interesting characters, who, for the most part, are unique but still tropes. This is managed admirably, most notably the put-together mom who really isn't perfect. It can also be seen in Tom, Beth's husband and the serial killer in the title.

Aside from a few formatting quirks, this is an easy but disturbing read. Ms. Hunter uses a strange convention for titling and timing chapters. Chapter after chapter repeats “Now” after the name of the narrator. There are also some difficult handling of texts with extra letters that make no sense. Beth and Tom and a mysterious third person pass the narration duties back and forth. They are fairly easy to separate if the reader loses track.

This is a book of small twists and a few zigs and a couple zag. Some make sense, other seem to come out of the blue with little warning. Think Gone Girl, but with less backfill.

The village of Lower Trew feels a lot like a 1980s/1990s American High School, where gossip is king and mean girls are queens. Even drenched in Early Gray and decorated with the charm of Paul Hollywood, the cliques form right away.

This is a strong first effort. With time, I foresee Ms. Hunter becoming quite the thriller writer.

4 stars out of 5

https://www.amazon.com/Serial-Killers-Wife-Alice-Hunter-ebook/dp/B08N5MQYJ5

Firstly, thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon Books for allowing me an advanced reader copy for an honest review in return 😊

I have not read a thriller in a while and this book reminded me how much I love them! It was such an exciting read and I always love different POV’s in a thriller book... it added to the tension well. Hunters writing style was great and I loved how certain chapters ended - I was flying through each page to find out more!

Due to the title of this book I was worried it was going to be a little predictable however there were definitely some twists and turns! It’s also true what they say... you never know what’s going on behind closed doors 👀

This is a quick and suspenseful read and if you’re a fan of thrillers like myself... I’d recommend picking this one up! It’s out 27th May, add it to your TBR! 😊👏🏻

This book didnt work for ME.
I really liked the idea of it,but didnt really enjoy it that much.
When you start eye rolling at the main character a few chapters in,you know it's not good.
However it was an easy read,and so I finished it quickly.

Yes this book!
It was fantastic. Thank you! It was a book I needed to read before I even did it!
Can’t wait for people to enjoy this one

I had high hopes for this book, but it fell flat for me, unfortunately. It was a bit slow at times, and I didn't find Beth or Tom to be very believable as characters. Especially Tom - the sections written from his point of view just didn't do it for me. I also felt that the end was super rushed, like the author wanted to wrap everything up all at once.

What a great book as debut. The basic storyline is a loving couple who appear to have life sorted. I could not wait to finish the book and there were many unexpected twists and turns and did not disappoint and I failed to guess the ending. Like other reviewers I raced through in a couple of days and I cannot wait for the next book by this author.

Absolutely fantastic! I finished this in two days because I couldn’t put it down. Well written and full of surprises. Keeps you on your toes the entire time!

The Serial Killers Wife

I loved the premise of this book...an innocent woman taken up in a storm that is completely out of her control and dealing with the awful repercussions.

Since reading The Widow..I've wanted a story that tells it from a wife's point of view where this awful thing just happens to her and she is trying to deal with the reality of the monster her husband really is and how she didn't know etc.
However, this wasn't the story I had been hoping for unfortunately.

The start was intriguing ...and then
Beth's character became clear.

Funny coming from one Beth to another...but boy did I hate Beth Hardcastle.

She is literally the most awful self centered dramatic and just egotistical character I have read in a long time.

What kind of person would not want to discuss the allegations with her husband?  What kind of person would not worry about her husband being in jail?  At one point she actually thought it was worse for her on the outside as he was 'protected ' in prison...I was flabbergasted....at this point, as shown to the reader, she has no idea if the allegations are true and she has absolutely no interest in finding out....and absolutely no worry about anything but herself and how it affects her and the life she was trying to create for her child. 

I didn't even feel she loved Poppy...just didn't want her to have the life she had...so making Poppy's childhood about herself...which is so weird.

Beth Hardcastle came across as a narcissistic sociopath to me...she had a very unique way of turning every situation into it being about herself.

Beth is so distressed by a single seemingly unimportant white lie....its so bizarre.

At another point she worried he was having an affair...whilst he is in prison and she hasn't been bothered to check on him ...I actually laughed out loud at that point.

I think we needed some background of Beth to know where she was coming from at all.

Alot of the revelations about characters happened too late in the story...would have been helpful to have known the characters better earlier on...would have made the build up more enjoyable.

I absolutely hated the ending but it was definitely a page turner up until that point and definitely easy reading.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I could not put this book down! The twists and turns are exciting, unexpected. I enjoyed how the author spoke through each person; the timing of each voice was impeccable. Although I found it disturbing, I could understand how manipulative a killer's mindset can be to avoid blame, playing on his wife's insecurity so that she too does what is necessary to protect their perfect family life. Understanding how deeply a mother loves and protects her child from living a hellish past, it doesn't take much to see the wife's motives for her behaviours. It was really enjoyable that the author chose a village setting for the family; nothing is hidden from the grapevine. It was also clever for the author to gradually show that everyone has a façade they hide behind - whether guilty or not. Having worked in a small rural town myself, I felt so many similarities of how everyone knows your every move, how you worry about optics, how you have to hide from prying eyes watching you. Does hiding make you guilty, or does it make you look guilty? I highly recommend this book for readers to find out.

The premise of this novel had me intrigued immediately and it did not disappoint. This is a fast-moving story that grips you right away - I read it in one day, having to know how it ended.
While relying on a few tried-and-true thriller tropes (which I won't detail to avoid spoilers), I found the plot was still exciting and felt fresh. It was easy to invest in the characters and I would definitely read a sequel to see how some of them fare in the aftermath.
Thanks to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for the digital copy for review. All opinions are my own.

The Serial Killer’s Wife is the reason I love a good thriller so much- you think you’ve got it all figured out, then the author pulls you right back in until the last few pages. Alice Hunter has done just that with this novel, the perfect escapist read. I will definitely look to read another one of Hunter’s books in hopes of another twisted story that keeps me guessing and thinking even after I’ve finished the novel!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and the author Alice Hunter for the opportunity to receive and review this ARC.

Excellent psychological thriller, difficult to put down. Beth and Tom seem like the perfect loving couple with their beautiful daughter Poppy. When Tom is arrested on suspicion of murder their beautiful facade starts to crumble. As Beth tries to shield Poppy from the fallout of her dads arrest, she also must come to terms with what she knew about her husband prior to his arrest. Extremely fast paced page turner full of twists and turns.

First, thank you to NetGalley, Alice Hunter and Avon Books UK for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I very much enjoyed this book. It, like others have said, was a true page turner. I took my Kindle everywhere I went to even if I just had a few minutes to keep reading I did. Some reviewers said they saw things a mile away but not me. I was totally blown away by the ending and am truly hoping for a sequel. This was gripping and I will definitely be reading more of this author's works. I liked all the characters and the story progressed well. This was gripping and I will definitely be reading more of this author's works.

Brilliant! An easy read with lots of twists and turns. Beth's husband Tom is arrested for murder and everyone thinks Beth must have known - but your whole view point changes as you go through the book and more and more facts are revealed.

I liked the way the story was told from the view point of different key characters and at different times.

A really enjoyable read.

Loved this book, I devoured it within a few days. The narrative follows Beth and Tom who have an idyllic house/business in a perfect little village. The story starts from page one, Tom is under investigation by the police due to a missing persons case. I do not want to give too much away but this is worth a read, really good characters and I really warmed to Beth, she was easy to like and I enjoyed reading about her. There are a few twists along the way in this novel and I loved the twist at the end. Right up my street, thanks Alice Hunter I will be looking out for more of your books.

The Serial Killer’s Wife by Alice Hunter has an interesting plot. The characters are well developed but not sure I connected with them, and maybe that was point. The story did drag on in places, some of the repetitive details could have been edited out as it was also a bit long. I try to just enjoy books with twists without trying to hard to figure them out and this one was no different. The twists were fun, but the ending was a bit too open ended for me.

***** I received an ARC from NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my honest review. *****

4.5 Stars
Wow, I loved this book. The story was very engaging and intense. I loved the way it built and unfolded.
I've only given 4.5 stars as I did guess a couple of things but equally there were plenty of things I didn't guess.
I definitely think this is a book to keep an eye out for as I feel it will be a big hit when it's released. I've certainly mentioned to a few people already.

THE SERIAL KILLER"S WIFE
BY ALICE HUNTER

I was in the mood for a good thriller--nothing too graphic. This at times was more than I bargained for. It begins with Tom, his wife Beth and their three year old daughter, Poppy. This was a British setting in a small village where everybody knows everybody else's business. Beth is young and trying to fit in with the other mother's in her daughter's nursery school. Clearly she doesn't have any close friends and is too concerned about what the other mother's think of her. She and her husband Tom appear on the surface to have the perfect life. But it soon becomes evident that she doesn't know her husband Tom nearly as much as she thought she did. I found this to be a quick and fast paced read but I felt the unknown point of view was too graphic for me.

Beth knows that Tom's girlfriend Katie who Tom said broke his heart is missing. Tom has always told Beth that Katie left him and he presumed that she was traveling. Then the knock on the door comes from the detectives that are opening Katie's disappearance. First they question Tom and he lied about where he was on a given day which leads to his arrest. Beth doesn't visit him because she is struggling to take care of Poppy, their daughter and run a cafe that she owns.

I could easily guess who the mystery point of view was early on which took away my urge to see who or what happened to Katie. It is too clear from life experience and reading more than my fair share of mysteries and thrillers that Tom was too isolating of Beth. Discouraging her from keeping in touch with former university friendships. Having a bad opinion of her friends, etc.

I had higher hopes for this and it was disappointing. The biography of the Author's resume is what was the draw for me to choose to read this. She completed a psychology degree. She has work experience as being an interventions facilitator where she worked as part of a team that offers rehabilitation programs to men serving various offenses. The writing was just okay but not compelling enough to recommend in my humble opinion. Maybe other's will enjoy it but honestly this just wasn't for me.

Publication Date: May 27, 2021

Thank you to Net Galley, Alice Hunter and Avon Books UK for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheSerialKillersWife #AliceHunter #AvonBooksUK #NetGalley

This was SO good! I haven’t read this author before but I loved this. The pacing was excellent and the writing was superb.