This is a light, fun story that reads a bit like a cozy mystery. It is witty and smartly written. Our main character is an advice columnist and accumulates a few too many stalkers as she tries to reassemble her new life after divorce living with her loud, lovable, Italian family in a small Canadian town. This book is listed as a thriller but I would categorize it more as a thriller/comedy. It is unique, original and quirky and perfect for those looking for a fast paced and enjoyable read. Thank you NetGalley, Level Best Books and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. Available for purchase now!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

How to Murder a Marriage by Gabrielle St. George is a book that combines two genres: thriller and comedy. The story revolves around Gina, who works as an advice columnist for relationship problems. One day, when she's advising her readers, the obsessive husband of one of her readers writes her back and threatens her. Now, someone is stalking Gina. Is it her reader's husband or is it Gina's ex-husband?

Here is a humorous excerpt from Chapter 1:

"TOP 6 MOST STRESSFUL LIFE EVENTS
Divorce: Check (After six years, my crazy ex-husband is still dragging me through the courts.
Death of a Loved One: Check (My best girlfriend / soul sister died in my arms four months ago. F*** cancer.)
Moving House: Check (I built my dream house and intended to be carried out of it in a box. Instead, I'm carrying boxes out of it, packed with the belongings I didn't garage sale when I had to hark my house at a fire sale price.)"

Overall, How to Murder a Marriage is a blend of thriller and comedy that will appeal to fans of the Finlay Donovan series. I've noticed a lot of books that combine these two genres lately. Although they're unique and interesting, I do find that sometimes the humor and levity can outweigh the thriller aspects. The synopsis makes this sounds like a suspenseful read, but when there are so many humorous moments as well, all the tension goes away. As a result, I wasn't drawn into Gina's plight. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of thrillers in general, you can check out this book, which is available now!

What I expected from this novel: How to Kill Your Family meets Sophie Kinsella? Maybe? And I guess, in a way that's what I got. We have a main character who is older, wiser, and more cynical than my usual protagonists, and yet I found her boring and out of touch. Her meddling gets her into trouble more than once, and overall this novel felt like a Netflix thriller, where the woman is constantly drinking a large glass of red wine, and every man who comes on screen is either going to have sex with or murder (or both) every woman in a five mile radius.

And I just didn't understand the choices she made. She's annoyed by the family she created, so she moves to a rural area in Canada - so that she's closer to extended family? She advises a domestic abuse victim to leave her husband and then just - logs off? She flirts with a married man, and then is surprised his wife is nasty towards her?

Something about this gave me the ick - maybe it's the years of safeguarding training I've had, or the fact I find SA and Domestic Abuse incredibly triggering in books - but this just didn't feel okay, and it immediately upped the tension for me (not in a good way) because I couldn't see this working out for the victim.

And when it came to the dramatic cliffhanger - I just didn't care. I won't be continuing this series, it just wasn't for me.

I wanted to love this book because of the amazing cover and having the main character be middle aged, divorced, sarcastic, mysterious and add a little romantic options in the mix…hello I was SOLD!
I thought I would connect with Gina the protagonist. However, I felt the writing was a bit disjointed and it was like reading an outline of a book, and lacked that extra depth of thought & emotion for it to be complete.
It does have a cliffhanger and I unfortunately will be passing on the series.
Many thanks for the gifted copy.

The cover, the blurb and storyline sounded amazing
But it was a bit meh for me!
I didn't connect with the characters or liked storyline that much.

Also the ending was a cliffhanger and that's a NO from me.

This was a fast paced book that was an interesting read. Gina is a divorced empty nester that moves to a rural location in Canada. There she has to deal with her ex husband as well as threats on her life due to advice she gave in her advice column. There was a lot happening in this book and at times if was a bit over the top. Overall I liked this one. Beware! Don’t read this if you are hungry. There is talk in here about some amazing food.

Gina Malone is an Ex-Whisperer - she has an online advice column for people struggling with their ex issues. She is pretty successful, even though she is dodging a pesky ex-husband who doesn't seem to understand keeping off.

She is fed up with his constant following, her children have flown the coop, and there is nothing to keep her at her current place so she moves to Canada to be near the rest of her extended family. Before taking off, she advises a woman with an abusive husband to leave him. Then she is offline for a while. When she gets back on, she gets a message from this unknown abusive husband telling her that his wife has taken off and asking her to watch out. Plus, she is attracted to her home's developer - a fact that his obsessive ex-wife doesn't like one bit.

So how will Gina manage to shake off three crazy stalkers?

WHAT I LIKED:
🤩 Gina Malone - What a feisty woman. An author almost never picks an older protagonist, at least, not a woman. Gina has grown-up children living in different parts of the world. She loves life and believes in living it to the full. She has good friendships and relationships. I want to be Gina when I grow old, minus the socializing part.
🤩 Dogs - When there are dogs in a book, it is halfway a winner for me.
🤩Plot - It is a great plot and the author has done justice to it.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
😕 The characters grate on the nerves after a while. NOBODY has the concept of just thinking of something. If it is in their brains, it is out of their mouths. So there is a lot of conversation happening with little action.
😕 Too cinematic - It feels as if the book was written for the screen. Not surprising since the author is a screenwriter.
😕 Less humour - When I picked this book, I expected something of <i>Finlay Donovan</i> given that the covers are similar. I absolutely loved Finlay Donovan. This felt a bit...flat.

MY THOUGHTS:
I see this is a start of a new series so I might give it a chance once the next book is out. I want to see more of Gina's spunkiness in the next book, please.

MY RATING: 3 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Level Best Books for the ARC.

2.5 - 3 stars

I think the premise of this one was better than the execution, but that’s not to say that I didn’t like some aspects of it. I think one of my main issues is that I don’t think the author knew what kind of vibe or genre of book she wanted to write. The genres seemed to bump into each other leaving me confused as to what the feel of this was supposed to be; at certain points I felt like I was reading a cozy mystery and then it would switch gears and felt like a suspenseful thriller, and then we would head into a women’s fiction. That’s not to say that books can’t have elements of genres but this one didn’t do it well because once you were settled in the constant switch of writing became a bit disorienting and took away from my enjoyment of the book. Speaking of my enjoyment of the book I was so into our heroine, Gina, she was so savvy, smart, self-sufficient, and really cool. At some moments she made choices or acted in a way that led me to eye roll a bit but overall she was such a solid character. I really loved being in her pov and experiencing everything with her.

ARC given by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I loved the cover so much! I didn't realize it was part of a series. Well, the start of a series. I love advice columns so that part was interesting and fun to me. I felt like the story was a little slow but maybe that's because it is a series and there will be more time to explore? It was very dialogue-heavy which I normally don't mind but sometimes I felt like it was at the expense of the plot. Lots of talking, too little doing.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!
I picked this book based off the cover, and I don't regret it. There were a couple of slow parts for me, but I understand this is the first of a series. I will definitely be getting around to reading the following books!
Pick this book up if you enjoyed Finlay Donovan is Killing It.

This one sounded like it would be a great read but it just didn't work for me. The book isn't really sure what genre it wants to fit into and the jumping between them really threw off my reading. I liked the mystery and I liked the main character, who has a lot of sass and wit but overall I didn't love it. I would probably give book two a chance and hope that that story line stuck to a genre.

Gina Malone has some seriously lousy luck with men, both hers and ones she encounters through her advice column as the "Ex-Whisperer."

Oh, Gina. Turning 50 soon, she’s hoping to have moved on from her stalker ex-husband. She’s ready to enjoy downsizing from the family home they lost in the divorce and making the cottage in her hometown livable and comfortable for her grown children to visit from time to time. But she suddenly finds her peace threatened by not just her stalker ex-husband, but also the ex-wife of her contractor, and the spouse of a woman she advised in her "Ex-Whisperer" column. She doesn’t want to be more of a burden to her small-town family as they rally to protect her from whoever the current threat is.

Gina’s story is told in a quirky and conversational style. It definitely reads as the first in a series, as we get to know a bit of her style and the family and friends who are important to her. I’d give this one 3 out of 5 stars and recommend it for those who enjoy a contemporary story with a sassy, strong female protagonist and a fun mystery storyline.

thank you for this arc in return for an honest review. this was an easy to read and interesting book. it starts off with a woman writing on a board asking how to get rid of her controlling husband, unfortunately he sees it and does not respond kindly. the author of the board on the other hand is dealing with her own personal issues…being attracted to her carpenter and a stalkery ex husband

I really liked this! The mc's life is sorta a mess and she seems to always find herself in some sort of confrontation or crazy situation, but it's fun.

I love the little old aunts with their attack chihuahuas. I also love that her family is so supportive and helps to keep her safe but is also sorta nosey and helps try to find the answers to. Plus I like the small town aspect where very one knows.

I hope there is a second because I would like a little more resolution with the exs and the new potential boyfriend. (HINT HINT! 😉🤣)

2.5/5🌟
CW: domestic abuse, suicide, murder

How to Murder a Marriage is a solid and fun read. It's mystery mixed with a bit of romance.

The MC, Gina, is sarcastic and witty. She's captivating and doesn't take a crap-type of heroine. The writing style is easy to get into and the quality is similar to a movie script. I enjoyed the setting and the big family setup.

Some things I did not like, it's dialogue-heavy and the book can't seem to know what genre it wants to be. At some point, it's a cozy mystery then women's fiction then it's a romance thriller?

Overall, How to Murder a Marriage is a good debut novel. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book!

This was a fun and interesting story. It's a mystery with some suspense, but it also has lots of funny moments and a hint if romance. The characters were quirky and likable. This would definitely be a fun movie. Overall a fast, easy read!

An intriguing book that keeps you turning the pages - I enjoyed this one. Interesting characters!
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was drawn to this book first because of the title and then because of the description. This is definitely the type of book I am normally interested in, as it a thriller with romantic elements. The plot seems a little bit far-fetched as Gina seems to have 3 different stalkers. It definitely seems to escalate quickly, but there wasn't as much tension as I would have liked there to be. I found some of the dialogue and first-person perspective to be a little forced and parts that I think were meant to be funny fell flat. Parts sounded like a mom trying too hard to sound cool. The aunts were actually pretty funny and reminded me a bit of my own relatives. I can't say that I will be continuing the series, but I think that this is a great book for someone who likes their thrillers a bit on the lighter side.

There were so many fun things about this book! I loved that the main character was Italian (her family was my favorite), I loved that she was older and she had grown kids and I loved the mystery and suspense.
Gina is an advice columnist that is going through a divorce from her long time husband and father of her kids. He is a bit crazy and doesn't want to let her go even though he has "moved on" in more ways than one.
One day she gets an email from a reader that asks her for help. She is in fear of her life and thinks her husband is going to kill her. Gina gets intertwined in this mess from the start. The husband writes her and then a neighbor, leading her to believe that this woman is in real danger. She doesn't know exactly this woman is, but with the help of her friends she tracks her down and begins trying to save her.
I really enjoyed a lot of this book and the suspense, but there were parts that I was a bit confused about. The ending just didn't satisfy me, but I do understand that there will be more books in this series so maybe that will help. If you like older characters, suspense and a touch of romance thrown in, then this book is for you!
Thanks to Netgalley, Level Best Books and Gabrielle St. George for an early copy.

How to Murder a Marriage was a novel that kept be intrigued from the very beginning. When Gina moves back to the small town her family lives in, she doesn’t expect a stalker to be following her along in the journey. This books was a great thriller and I am eager to see what the next installments of The Ex-Whisperer Files entail.
I enjoyed the premise that Gina is a column writer that handles, primarily, issues that women have with exes or significant others. I adored the friendships that Gina has throughout the book and felt like each character added to the pace of the book.
Overall, a four star read! Entertaining and well written!