A gripping read about Tom and Jesse, 2 best friends. Tom the quieter more sensible of the 2 and Jesse who is bought up very differently and a bit of a wild child. But a fateful night when the boys are in their teens results in Tom killing Jesse and serving 10 years in prison. Tom marries Bridget who is Jesse's mum which appears to be a weird set up and there is also Ellis who is Jesse's son who obviously takes an instant dislike to his Dad's killer. However there is so much more behind what was learned on the night Jesse was killed. I couldn't put it down!

Ten years ago he killed my son. Today I married him.

Ten years ago my darling son Jesse was murdered and our perfect family was destroyed.

What a gripping mystery!

This was a very disturbing but good read.

Thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish and could not get enough of.

This is a must read for anyone who enjoys a good thriller!!
Absolutely loved the characters, the plot, the tension -  impossible to put it down.
Certainly recommended!

This was my first KL Slater book and I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked it! I was a bit hesitant at the story line of a mother falling in love with her son’s killer, but this was so well written that I didn’t eve second guess!

My thanks to NetGalley and Bookoutre for a copy of “ The Marriage” for an honest review.

I’ve read and reviewed many of K L Slater’s books and her latest book “” The Marriage” definitely doesn’t disappoint..
I was intrigued by the storyline ,and the book had me gripped from the start. I found the characters were really well written and believable.
This was full of twists and it kept me guessing right up to the end.
I loved it and it’s another recommendation from me.!

The Marriage by K. L. Slater

Tom and Jesse, two boys as close as brothers.

One fateful punch leaves 18yr Jesse dead by his best friend, Tom, a trained boxer. Jesse had a knife. Was it an accident? Self defense? Or did Tom really mean to kill him?

Bridget, Jesse’s mom, found it in her heart to forgive Tom! They fall in love and get married, while he’s finishing up his prison term for killing her son!!

Wait....what?!? Reading the books description caught me right away! I couldn’t wait to read this book!

Tom’s mom, Jill, is so excited for his release! His dad Robert, not so excited. Little do they know he’s married. Jill and Bridget were good friends. Jill confides in her other friend Audrey.

Then there is also Coral, Jesse’s girlfriend who was 6 months pregnant when he dies. With a boy she names Ellis.

Is there revenge? Why marry your son’s killer? Or has Bridget truly forgiven Tom and in love?!

Family isn’t happy. People will be gossiping. There will be secrets and betrayals. Another death.

Even though I guessed the plot twist, this was an enjoyable book! I kept wanting to read more!!

Thank you K. L. Slater, Bookouture and NetGalley for the copy to read this book for my honest review!

Wow another brilliant book from K.L. Slater. I have been a fan since her first book and this shocking gripping thriller that will keep you guessing throughout.
Ten years ago, best friend Tom and Jesse were arguing outside a nightclub. When Tom who is an amateur boxer punches Jesse and kills him.
Ten years later after serving time in HMP Nottingham Tom now 28 leaves prison and at first goes home to his family home. But tells his mother Jill who has been waiting all these years for her dear son to go home, that he got married in prison. The woman he married his Jesse’s 48-year-old mother Bridget!! It comes as a complete shock to Jill, and she wonders why Bridget is so forgiving to the man that killed her son and she also thinks that she has a secret agenda.
Tension files between both families and Jill keeps cajoling Tom to leave Bridget and come home. But Tom agrees he has a new life and that he loves Bridget even though of what happened and their age differences. But things start to go wrong and when Coral the mother of Jessie’s son ends up dead. Things start to unravel.
This is another Brilliant book from K.L. Slater that I really enjoyed so much that it kept me awake into the small hours of the morning because I did not want to put it down. This has a unique storyline which kept me guessing, with an unexpected twist at the end. 5 stars from me.

The Marriage by K.L. Slater pulled me in from the very start, and did not let go until the final page. Admittedly, I would read a shopping list if it was penned by K.L. Slater, and this latest book exceeded even my highest expectations. Brilliant.

Tom is serving a prison term for killing his friend Jesse with a single blow following an altercation at a nightclub. While incarcerated, Tom forms a strong bond with Jesse's grieving mother Bridget and, despite the circumstances, not to mention a considerable age difference, the two decide to wed. As expected, the news does not go down well with Tom's mother Jill, who cannot understand how the pair can possibly be drawn to each other given their shared past, and wonders about the true motivation of her former friend, Bridget.

This is a story that provides all of the twists, turns, and jaw-dropping revelations that we have come to expect from a K.L. Slater novel, and I devoured every word.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC.

Another amazing read by KL Slater. Every book I have read by this author I have rated 5 stars and this one is equally as good.

10 years ago, Bridget’s son was killed, today Bridget is marrying the man who killed him. Well that alone intrigued me and I could not put the book down once I started it.

The book changes from now and ten years ago, and tells it by different characters perspectives. The story takes you through a tense and exciting plot, with interesting characters and a twist at the end you will not see coming.

Thankyou Netgalley and bookouture for my ARC in exchange for an honest opinion

Thank you Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.


This book to be honest is not that much of twists and turns but will keep you hooked to your seat .

The author has done a great work with the story and characters . It is a slow paced book but is filled with all suspense and the masala you definitely need in a story.

The theme of the book is eye-catching and you can't resist yourself from reading this .


A somewhat 50ish woman gets married to a 20ish guy who is her son's killer .

I liked the way the author has portrayed Ellis and the way he was wants to take revenge of his father's death who actually is not his father to my utmost surprise .


The moment I read that he is Tom's half brother I was literally like what the fuck !I couldn't breathe for a minute .I thought maybe Tom is his father but the story went two steps forward making it more suspenseful for the readers .

If you are a fan of thrillers you would definitely love this.

I absolutely have fallen in love with this author. Every book I’ve read has kept me interested from beginning to end. Wonderful suspense and twists that will keep you on edge. Thank you to publisher and NetGalley for ARC.

Pub date5/21

I remember loving Blink and The Apartment by KL Slater so I was excited to dive right into The Marriage. This book starts out with a bang and only gets better from there! I was glued from the very first page and had the chance to read it nonstop for several hours while at the dermatologist getting Mohs surgery on my nose. So many in unexpected twists at the end, I wasn’t sure where this book was going but happy with the outcome. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

The Marriage - KL Slater

Tom and Jesse were best friends, until a drunken argument saw Tom killing Jesse with a single punch.

Ten years later Tom is about to be released from prison, and has fallen in love with Jesse's mother Bridget. They are about to get married, The Marriage of the title.

A unique premise, and one I struggled to believe in.

I found it fairly slow to get into, with a lot of dialogue and explanation (rather than description). It picks up in the second half.

I wouldn't say I was particularly involved with any of the characters but was interested to see how it would develop.

I know KL Slater has a solid reputation, this is the first of her books I've read and I started reading it with high hopes after seeing glowing praise online.

Sorry to say that this wasn't one for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookoutre.

Overall Good Read But For Me A Slow Burner 🤔

The Marriage is told from a few different perspectives, but mainly Bridget, Tom or Jill's. It starts April 2019, Bridgets wedding day to a man 20 years younger who 10 years earlier killed her son.

It then takes you back to the night in 2009, Mavis a retired school teacher out walking her dog when she sees something from the shadows she fears will not end well, which ends in tragedy. From here it's mainly in the present, but moves back 10 years and to the year Jill and Bridget met.

Overall a good read, for Me I found it a slow burner but worth reading.

The Marriage is compelling, exciting and shocking. KL Slater does an amazing job of weaving together different character’s perspectives and times periods to tell a story that captivated me the entire time. I’ve read every other book by this author so I knew the ending would be unpredictable, and that’s exactly what it was! I highly recommend this book and will be telling all my friends & customers about it!

I really don’t know how she does it but K. L. Slater just keeps on coming up with the most amazing stories – every one different from the last and this, her latest, is like nothing I’ve read before. The plot is so unusual. A situation where the mother of a man jailed for murdering her son and who actually then goes on to marry that man is different to say the least! Add in the fact that the murderer is 20 years her junior and her dead son’s best friend who she has known since he was a child is definitely a ‘Wow’ situation. You know from that point that questions will arise, most notably, WHY? Does she have an ulterior motive? Revenge perhaps? Straight away the suspicions are there. The repercussions from family and friends – many of whom have their own deeply hidden secrets – adds to the mystery. Layer after layer of suspicion, clues and red herrings slowly build as the plot twists and turns and I was left quite breathless and whipping through the pages in order to unlock the secrets and motivations of a number of the characters involved. I had to force myself to pause in my reading a few times just to assimilate what I had just read as the various and shocking twists just came at me like a bolt from the blue and kicked away all my theories and expectations leaving me stunned. I cannot praise this book enough and, indeed, am raving about it to my book friends, my various book groups and anyone who’ll listen! What a story. Genius. Just genius! My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a pre-release copy of this book in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

This story went in a completely different direction to where I thought it was headed which is definitely a sign of a good twisty thriller! K L Slater is one of my go to authors, all her books are great reads. There are plenty of twisted family scenarios at play here with characters whose motivations are far from clear! I would certainly recommend any of this author's books.

How is it possible to fall in love with someone who ended your sons life so viciously?
This is a quote from the latest thriller by K L Slater. It starts with a wedding, wonderful you may think but this wedding is not all it seems. Bridget a 48 year old woman is marrying Tom a man 2 decades younger than herself. Nothing wrong with that I hear you say, however they are getting married in a prison Chapel where Tom has been serving a 10 year sentence for killing Bridget"s son Jesse. Six months later Tom is released from prison and the story becomes even more intense. Family and friends disapproval, Ellis, Bridgets grandson does not like Tom after all he killed his dad that he never knew. Jill, Toms mum has her suspicions about the wedding. Lots of twists culminating in a fab ending. Advise everyone to read this book. Absolutely fantastic
Many thanks to Netgalley and publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review, my opinions are my own

I was interested in this book because I have read some of KL Slater’s books before and very much enjoyed them. In The Marriage, we learn that Jesse and Tom had been best friends growing up but due to an accident when they were 18, Tom went to prison for the murder of Jesse. Once he is released from prison, he marries Tom’s mother, to the shock and discomfort of everyone.
I enjoyed The Marriage and thought the story was compelling and I kept reading to find out what happened. There are plenty of secrets in the book but I wanted more still! My problem was that some of the secondary characters weren’t fleshed out much and I had trouble remembering how they were connected to the families.

I don't even know how to review this amazing book without spoiling it for future readers but trust me....this is the one book that if you only read one this year, this must be it. It's a wild ride and so different from anything I've read lately. The ending blew me away. You must read this! Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Honestly this author can do no wrong. I started reading this book thinking one thing and was completely knocked over by the end of the book. This is an exciting thriller which does not disappoint but I’m not going to spoil it for anyone.