Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exhange for an honest review.
"The Serial Killer's Wife" by Alice Hunter was a psychological thriller that I found it to be well written, creative & addictive.
There are alot of unexpected twists to keep any reader interested & there's a jaw dropping ending that will completely blindside you.
I would love to read what Ms. Hunter writes next.

Intense psychological thriller that keeps you guessing! So many surprising twists. Unbelievable ending. Loved all the characters—especially Beth. Is she really the innocent housewife or does she know more than she’s leading on? Amazing debut thriller by Alice Hunter. Can’t wait to read more from her!

Thank you NetGalley, Harper360 Avon, and Alice Hunter for this ARC.

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

Let me say that this is the first novel from this author, as far as I can tell, and this author has a lot of potential. This book has a good beginning and a really good ending. The ending even surprised me a bit, which isn’t easy with all the books I read.

The middle part of this story slacks a bit before picking back up. There was too much time between revelations and too many pages with too much filler.

I thought the suspense of the story kept me trying to figure things out and like I said I was a bit surprised at what had happened so many years ago.

As I said, the author shows potential with this book and I look forward to picking up the next from this new author.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

While the cover and blurb intrigued, the story gave me whiplash. I couldn’t adjust after the plausibility of the wife and her reach for truth.

What did I like? I enjoyed the story until we got the one eighty of Beth. She played the part of the innocent wife who didn’t know why the police were questioning her husband for the disappearance of the ex girlfriend. Then the story goes down hill.

Would I recommend or buy? I was eager for the story but then this turned into a fence book. I wouldn’t buy nor would I recommend. The story had too many holes. I didn’t like the about face of Beth or the weakness of Tom.

I received a complimentary copy to read and voluntarily left a review.

Unbelievable Twists and Turns!
This is an extremely well-done story. A loving couple gets sidelined when he is accused of murder. The plot has twists and turns no one can expect, including a marvelous ending. I won't spoil the story, but I would call this a 'must read'! I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

Beth's husband Tom allegedly murdered a woman. No, her murdered two women. Is that all? He's being questioned by the police for the murder of an ex-girlfriend who Beth thought was history years ago. When the police start to question Beth about her knowledge of Tom's path she fears she too may be in trouble for something she knew nothing about. All she wants is for her daughter to have a normal life. How far will Beth go to make sure her daughter has everything she never did?

This was a quick paced thriller. There were so many twists, right up to the end.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this book for an honest review. This is an author to watch. This is definitely a thriller. Beth and Tom have have what seems like a perfect life. That is until the Police arrive to question Tom in regards to a murder. This is a good book with twists that will keep you guessing.

The Serial Killer’s Wife will draw you in from the very first chapter. The chapters are fast-paced which I thoroughly enjoyed. The book is full of twists and had me ghost the story would end. I will be waiting for Alice Hunter’s next book. I highly recommend.

The Serial Killer's Wife, by Alice Hunter, is a debut author. 
It is a British murder mystery set in a small village outside London, where everyone knows other peoples business.
Trigger warning there is some graphic sexual content which some readers may find offensive.
Thomas Hardcastle, wife, Beth, and toddler, Poppy, have recently moved to the small village for the quieter life. Tom works in banking in London while Beth has a ceramic café. They really haven't made close friends.
The chapters alternate between then & now, and between Tom, Beth and Katie. The flow was well paced and an easy read.
They have a quiet life until one evening Detective Inspector Manning, Metropolitan Police, and his associate Detective Sergeant Walters, show up at the door.
Tom's previous girlfriend, Katie, disappeared years ago. The Detectives suddenly think maybe she didn't just travel off on her own. They have new questions regarding Tom's possible involvement. Beth is blindsided by these new developments.
Lots of the chapters are about Beth's thoughts, feelings and what she's going to do. The pace had me struggling to stay interested through some of it.
The story really is about the wife, Beth, and how she deals with being labeled a serial killer's wife. While there is certainly enough detail about the husband and the possible crimes, the focus is on Beth. She is harassed by journalists, and the press. The small village gossips think Beth knew more about her husband's involvement in Katie's fate than she claims. There's lots of whispering behind her back.
Recent widower, Adam, is Beth's only reliable support during the accusations and investigation into her husband.
As Detective Constable Imogen Cooper interviews Beth further, critical new facts arise. The twists and turns will take you by surprise, they did me.
Thanks to Netgalley and Avon books for the advance digital copy. This review is entirely my opinion, given voluntarily.

What a fun thriller!

Beth and Tom Hardcastle have the perfect life.

Until the day the police come knocking on their door.

Tom is officially suspected to have something to do with the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend, Katie. And it doesn’t take long before everyone is wondering how much Beth knew and was hiding for her husband.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a fast read that will keep you entertained with each page turn!

I honestly wasn't sure what I was going to get going into this one. I knew I was hoping for a book that would keep me on edge, keep me guessing, and keep my heart racing.

Thankfully, that is exactly what I got.

This kept me turning the pages, it kept me engaged and most of all, it kept me wanting to know if I was right all along right until the very last deliciously dark page.

This is definitely one author I will be keeping my eye on.

Hidden secrets in a marriage

What would you do if you found out your spouse was a serial killer? Told in alternating points of view, this British suspense thriller tells the tale of Beth, the wife, and Tom, the husband, in an eight year marriage that all of a sudden falls apart one day when Detectives come to the door looking for Tom as a suspect in the disappearance of a girlfriend previous to their marriage.

This was a well told story of secrets and more secrets and secrets piled on top of secrets. I enjoyed the alternating points of view format and thought this was a great debut novel. I recommend it to those looking for a bit of psychological suspense thriller in their next read.

I received this book from St. Martin's Press through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

The Serial Killer’s Wife by Alice Hunter is an amazing debut that had me reading way past my bedtime. The short chapters combined with the alternate story telling between Beth and Tom’s past and present was a perfect way to increase the suspense.

The reason I’m giving it four stars instead of five is because I did find myself skimming at times when Beth would ramble in her thoughts as to why she didn’t see that Tom could be a killer. The reason why it got to me so much is the information that we find out later on. I felt while it did keep the suspense going it was a bit of a cop out and a way to add more pages to the book… and I really dislike that. But it should not keep you from reading The Serial Killer’s Wife… especially the very twisted twist that you find out at the end!

I do also want to mention the graphic sexual violence. I’ve read a lot of suspense and thrillers that don't include that and you may have too. While I thought it was appropriate in the book and added another layer, this may be something that is a trigger for readers.

I really enjoyed this book and how it fell together bit by bit as what Tom had done becomes more apparent and what his wife knew, or didn't know, is revealed. As the characters were developed I thought the story might go in a bit different direction, but it was well told and kept me turning pages. I did not like the very end, but can see many readers enjoying it. However, this is an author I will be on the look out for in the future, for she weaves a solidly wicked web!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

The Serial Killer’s Wife is a delightfully twisty thriller. With complex characters with questions surrounding their motives, I really liked the way Hunter skillfully crafted these characters, delving into their psyches as the story unfolded.

I liked the balance of making Beth sympathetic as a mother trying to protect her daughter and reeling in the wake of the revelation of her husband’s depravity. Yet there’s also a sense of her as a somewhat unreliable narrator at times, to present the question that she’s hiding something. Running parallel to hers is Tom’s POV, which slowly unravels his dark deeds, and while they are mild in comparison to some of the more notorious serial killers with a kill count of three, there’s a real sense of disturbance to his mind that’s captured perfectly.

I did feel like the prose style felt a little inconsistent. I did feel present tense for the “now” sections helped with the feeling of immediacy, and then you switch back to the past, with Tom (and sometimes Katie, one of his victims), and those sections are in past tense, although Katie’s POV is differentiated by being in third vs. first like Tom’s and Beth’s. I had mixed feelings about that choice at first, but third person POV does convey that she’s not alive to tell her own story. I did feel like Beth’s flashback scenes should have mirrored this and also been in past tense, instead of present, as while they are largely set more recently, it’s still taking place prior to the main narrative.

This book is incredibly engaging, and I was ultimately satisfied upon finishing it. If you’re looking for a compelling, well-written psychological thriller from an author who really knows her stuff (Hunter has a degree in psychology and worked as an interventions facilitator in a prison), you should pick this up.

In the beginning, I thought things were moving slowly, and I feared there would be no surprises. But things picked up, reveals kept coming, and this book became quite a page turner. And even though you know a lot throughout much of this book, there were surprises at the end that packed a punch.

This thriller/domestic suspense is told in multiple perspectives, but our primary narrator is Beth. The book kicks off with police coming to her house to question her husband about a murder—only one, which surprised me. The actual title of this book is a bit … spoilery, though intriguing.

At first, I couldn’t tell if there would be thrills and reveals or if this was more of a character study, of a woman’s life in a quiet, gossipy village as she’s trying to cope with her husband’s arrest and possible guilt. But things definitely got interesting.

Beth’s voice is pretty enjoyable to read. I got a little annoyed when she kept calling the other village moms “yummy mummies,” a phrase the lexicon could go without, but overall she feels sympathetic and smart as she deals with wagging tongues and worry for her young daughter’s future.

This book relies on a trope that is arguably overdone and which I can’t name without spoilers. But I will say that I think it was done well here. Some readers may also be put off by the fact that internal dialogue—Beth telling the reader her thoughts—is a big part of the book and there isn’t a lot of detailed scene-setting. As a reader, I myself don’t mind some “telling.” Another thing that may put some readers off—but will appeal to others, including me—is that it is composed of a large number of short chapters. Others may find it choppy, but it kept me turning pages at a quick clip.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinions. This book will absolutely make your head spin! It's disturbing, twisty and an amazing psychological thriller which introduces us a new debut author Alice Hunter! She really knows how to draw a reader into her story and make you stay up way late into the night reading it as you will not be able to put it down. Read this the first chance you can!

This book was a struggle. The main narrator at the beginning of the book just seems so... mediocre. She doesn't have a strong voice and is not very likeable. The plot moves so slow to start that it is very hard to get invested. Combine these two things and this just wasn't even a like for me. The basics of the story were what you expect in a thriller, but stronger, likeable characters (or even unlikeable if you can hook me into the story) were needed. Great hook, just not the story I expected or enjoyed.

I had a hard time with this book. It was difficult to keep the timelines straight, which is the point, but there wasn't a clear set point. I also didn't love the characters and found their personalities to be lacking.

Tom has a lot of secrets he tries to hide from his wife. He has no family ties to speak of and finally finds a way to isolate his wife, Beth. As they move to the country and out of the city they share with friends, they also move away from Tom's secrets. But, they begin catching up with them. Beth has hard decisions to make as Tom's life falls apart in front of him. Beth has the option to stick by her husband and proclaim his innocence or she can turn on him and try to get him convicted.

So many changes in direction, I've already recommended this book to two friends who like a good mystery.