Alice Hunter's debut book, The Serial Killer's Wife, is a wonderful thriller. The book starts with Beth at home with her daughter Poppy waiting for her husband to arrive after work. She is surprised by the police who arrive before Tom and ask to come in to wait for him also. He is taken to the police for questioning but is released later that night. Tom goes to work the next day but is again taken in for questioning. Beth starts to panic about what she begins to hear about her husband.

It's difficult to write too much without giving away parts of the story. But this is one of those books you must read for the full effect. The story is slow going at first as each person tells their story which adds to the drama. About halfway it really picks up to the surprise ending. There are many twists and turns that leave the reader wondering what Beth knew and did not know, as we all suspect during a sensational crime. The book is told from Beth and Tom's point of view, but there is a third person that the identity is withheld that adds more to the mystery. This really is a well written story with great characters.

Holy Moly!!! Way to break through Alice Hunter! This is one heck of a debut novel!

Beth and Tom were living their best life. They literally had it all, a beautiful daughter, a gorgeous home in a quaint town and a successful business run by Beth. When Tom does not return home from work, all of a sudden Beth's world is turned upside down. Also, Beth soon finds out that Tom's ex girlfriend had disappeared eight years before and still has not been found. Who did Beth really marry?

This was an INSANE suspense novel that had me at the edge of my seat the entire time. Told from a dual narrative of both Tom and Beth's POV, you will not be disappointed. The characters come alive and you truly feel like you know them .

The only thing I was iffy about is that the conclusion still left me with some unanswered questions. All in all I would highly recommend The Serial Killer's Wife, to anyone who loves a highly intense domestic thriller!

I loved all the twists and turns in this one! The ending was, surprisingly, a surprise, making the book all the more enjoyable. As with most thrillers, there were some outlandish parts to it but the story was interesting enough that it was easy to go with it. This one was quite the ride!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Beth Hardcastle is unamused that her husband Tom is home late from work. It’s two hours past their daughter Poppy’s bedtime and he hasn’t so much as called to say he’d be running late. She’s relieved when she hears someone at the door. Finally, she thinks… except it’s not Tom. It’s the police. And as soon as Tom does arrive home, they’re whisking him away to be questioned about a murder. Suddenly Tom being late is the least of Beth’s worries and as he continues to be held by police, she is forced to confront that her dreamy small town life could be shattered. And, of course, that she may in fact be married to a murderer…

I don’t like leaving harsh reviews but this book simply did *nothing* for me. I guessed the twist(s) from a mile away, didn’t care for any of the characters, and was bored to death. At over a third of the way in, I’d marked down that all we’d done is spend 4 days with Beth as she is kind of worried the moms at her daughter’s pre-school will be mean if her husband is charged with murder. Oh, and we had a couple of chapters from Tom’s POV that made him sound like an ass, but certainly not an interesting or devious serial killer like I’d hoped based on the title. I like slow burn books, but this didn’t have any of that gradually ratcheting up the tension feeling for me. Instead it felt like what should have been 2 chapters were extended into nearly half the book. That’s not a slow burn. It’s trying to light damp logs with a magnifying glass on a cloudy day.

And then when we start to get to the “good” stuff, which isn’t until about two thirds in, there was not a single thing I hadn’t seen coming or where I couldn’t see exactly what the author was trying to set up. It was, at least to me, distractingly obvious. I held out hope that maybe this was on purpose and I was going to be blindsided, but no. And while this complaint is not unique to this book/author, I am so very over books with one-note evil men. Yes yes we get it. You hate women and they’re all evil and it’s all their fault. Please try to be more interesting next time.

There are so many domestic suspense novels out there right now, and in a bloated genre, there’s just really no need to pick up something as bland and predictable as this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper 360/Avon for the advanced copy of this book for review.

Wow! I did not figure this one out nor did I see that ending coming! Definitely a complex and suspenseful story.
I loved the character development and twists!
Thank you NetGalley!

I’d round this domestic thriller to 3.5 stars. You think you know your husband, but just like that you start questioning everything, at least that is what Beth Hardcastle did when her husband was arrested for the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.

This was a slow burning thriller that picks up near the end of the book. I was not a fan of the writing style. It had one too many POVS and it was a little chilly. I think that is why it seemed to drag on, however it didn’t end up on my DNF pile which is why I’d say 3-3.5 starts.

As always thanks Net Galley for an advance copy.

The setup of this story is really intriguing, but it didn't end up being right for me. Even though there's suspense from the first chapter, I struggled to connect with the writing and the characters. I wish the book could have held my attention better, as I was really excited to read it.

Tom Hardcastle is brought in for questioning about a young woman he loved that nobody has seen in several years. His wife Beth is distraught, worried for herself and her daughter Poppy she deals with the emotional upheaval Tom has caused his family. She is questioned by the police and tells them that Tom is the perfect husband and father. But is he? This book is like peeling an onion back. Layer after layer and more is revealed about Tom. There is so much she has had to put up with and she is vulnerable. New widower Adam who also has a daughter starts being there for her and more and more of the onion is peeled. How much did Beth know about Tom and when? With a surprise ending and revelation to the readers, this book is well worth the slow start. Thanks to #The SerialKillersWife#NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

With all the serial killer novels I’ve read, I’d like to think I’d have an inkling if my husband were sneaking around and murdering women, but maybe that’s what the protagonist in Alice Hunter’s latest novel, The Serial Killer’s Wife, thought too. Beth thinks she has the perfect family. She lives with her doting husband, Tom, and adorable three year-old daughter, Poppy. So you can imagine her shock when the police show up on her doorstep looking for Tom in relation to the disappearance and assumed murder of his former girlfriend. As the murder investigation begins to wreak havoc on her family, public perception of Beth takes a turn for the worse. Is she really just another innocent victim in her husband’s deadly games or does she know more than she’s letting on?

This one is tricky. It definitely will appeal to fans of unreliable narrators. I won’t give any spoilers, but I will say that I had already decided about 60% in that this would be 3 stars at the highest. It started out right in the middle of the action with the police showing up at Beth’s door looking for her husband in relation to a murder inquiry, but I just couldn’t understand Beth’s behavior. A lot of that made more sense as some twists and turns were revealed, but I couldn’t stand her character. The only reason I’m giving this one an extra half star is because of the ending. It completely surprised me and ended the book on a high note.

My rating: 3.5/5

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Avon Books for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have to say I really enjoyed this one, especially the twist at the end. I was not expecting that one. Not as fast paced as I typically like with thrillers but I definitely recommend this one.

Thank you #netgalley and #harper360 for the earc.

A thrill from start to finish. Huge turn of events at the end that make you wonder how you missed it in the rest of the book. Amazing and well done.

The Serial Killer's Wife is about Beth and Tom, a couple with a young daughter who recently moved from London to the suburbs. Tom is still commuting to London for work while Beth has opened Poppy's Place, a cafe/pottery painting place in their suburb. One day, Tom is home late and Beth opens the door to the police - she fears something has happened to Tom, but the police want to question him about the possible murder of his former girlfriend. The story is mainly told from the POV of Beth, with several chapters of Tom, Katie, and an unknown person thrown in. The chapters are incredibly short, which makes it feel like a quick read (I probably would've been done much faster if it wasn't a holiday and if I'd had the book on my phone). I really enjoyed the story, but I did spend the first half of it wondering if more people would turn up dead (a serial killer is not for one person!). Midway was also when I began questioning some of the things from Beth's POV earlier in the book and how far she'd go for her main goal of having Poppy raised in a complete, loving family. Without giving anything away, I did guess one of the twists but not another surprising tidbit and I'm always happy when books like this surprise me. Thanks to Netgalley, Alice Hunter and Harper 360 Avon for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Good story with an excellent ending. When Beth husband, Tom, is arrested for murder we learn, through, back and forth soliloquies, of the “interesting” past of the main characters.

Slow burn, awesome ending! I love how the author kept you hanging up until the very end. This is not a fast-paced keep you on your toes thriller, but it is a thriller that will keep you turning to the next page because you know there is more to the story than what meets the eye. Well done!

Thank you for Avon and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

A great story with an unexpected twist. I really liked this story and will look for more by this author. Thanks for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my review.

This is a decent enough thriller with plenty of red herrings and suspicious characters that keep you guessing until the very end. The writing isn't exactly 'elevated', but I think fans of the genre will enjoy this novel, and it's definitely a strong debut. I was immediately drawn to the title and premise and, while I'm not sure the book lived up to the promise it held, I liked Beth and cheered for her and Adam, even though I suspected he might wind up being dangerous himself. My biggest gripe with the book, other than that it does feel a bit forgettable overall, is in the final few chapters. While I didn't exactly like the final twist and felt like it was reaching, I let it fly, but the little bit of a cliffhanger, with two of the characters conspiring, was too much to me. I guess partly because I wanted things to end on a high note and then that final turn just made me feel like there were too many homicidal tendencies within one small group of people and it was trying too hard to be clever or shocking.

Thank you for the chance to read this one. It did start out a little slow for me but overall I enjoyed it. Even though you pretty much know the husband is the killer I definitely had questions about some things. It took me until the very end to figure it all out.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Serial Killer's Wife.

I'm always up for a novel revolving around a serial killer so I was excited when my request was approved.

This is not gripping or suspenseful or exciting.

Beth, the wife of the serial killer, spends most of her time denying her husband's involvement in the deaths of several women, crying, and ignoring her husband's attorney's calls.

There is a lack of urgency, suspense and not a police procedural, which is what I was hoping for.

Tom, as a serial killer, is nothing to talk about. For 99% of the novel, he's locked up in prison, whining about how he misses his family and how much they depend on him and how Beth won't betray him.

There is a twist at the end, which I sort of saw coming, though it was hard to believe. I can't believe Beth as a manipulative person at all, nor was there any guarantee it would work.

Also, I don't like when authors purposely withhold information from readers, such as when Beth reveals Tom had informed her of his heinous ways and she's been sitting on this information for over a year.

The writing was okay, but repetitive - if I hear yummy mummies or Polly poppet one more time, I'm gonna scream.

If your spouse was arrested for murder would you stand by them or turn the other way? And what if everyone thinks you knew? Beth is quite the character. When her husband is arrested she doesn’t seem too concerned about it. She actually seemed very selfish. More concerned about her cafe and what people will think about her rather than what’s going on with her husband. I didn’t like her that’s for sure. I read this fairly fast because I just knew there was going to be a twist and I was curious to see if I was right. Decent book and I wouldn’t hesitate to read another by this author. I especially liked the ending *wink*.

I think books are often categorized as psychological thrillers when a crucial character lies throughout the story. That is certainly the case here, but I was swept along with the narrative. Misgivings about all the voices in this book set me up to doubt what I was being told, which did give me an idea of where the story was going.

It's a fun story to read, although the ease with which people betray and undermine one another is a a little discouraging. It could have had more depth if we understood what drove the bad guys- why the actions they took seemed so reasonable to them. Certain acts are so irrevocable that whole constructs need to be built around them, and this is for sure the case here.

In the end, all I could do is worry about the little girl.