Member Reviews
When I saw this cover and title on NetGalley, I was immediately intrigued. I love domestic psychological thrillers!!! If you do also, you may enjoy this fast-paced read!
I loved the twists and turns of this one! It definitely kept my interest throughout the novel. This is the first novel I have read by this author, and I am interested to see what else she comes out with.
Short synopsis:
A year ago, someone broke into Kate and Andrew's home... and the person who did it was someone very close to our main character, Kate. Since the traumatic incident, Kate has developed anxiety and feels that she is always looking over her shoulder. With their marriage on the rocks, Andrew books a surprise vacation to a beautiful cabin to help them relax and heal; but upon their arrival, Kate finds that she can't relax, because no matter how hard they try to deny it.... what happened to them in the past is far from over.
My thoughts/reason for the rating (without spoilers):
Here's the thing: I predicted the outcome. I did not predict all of the details that unfolded, precisely, but I wasn't completely shocked; HOWEVER, if you are new to the thriller genre, this one may throw you for a loop! Ultimately, I found the ending a bit disappointing and kind of disturbing... mostly because it could actually happen.
Thank you so much, NetGalley, for the eARC!!
Family goes away on vacation after experiencing a violent home invasion. All is not as it seems though as the parents struggle to come to terms with the event. Slow moving and fell apart a bit at the end but solid read.
His Loving Wife by Miranda Smith is a psychological thriller. The story in this one is told in two timelines, the first being a year in the past and then a current time with the flashes back to the past slowly catching up to the current.
One year ago Kate was happily married to Andrew and the couple had two children together. One night when the family was sleeping peacefully Kate hears a noise and thinks someone may be in the house. Waking her husband Kate is certain someone is outside their door but Andrew freezes and does nothing while Kate confronts the intruder thinking only of their children’s safety.
Now the family is trying their best to put that horrific night behind them after all that had happened. Andrew has booked the whole family on a vacation at the beach and then surprises them with a longer trip than they had originally thought. But Kate still cannot forget that night a year ago when Andrew wasn’t there for their family.
His Loving Wife by Miranda Smith was somewhat a slow building psychological thriller with the way it jumped a year from the opening break in and then flashes back to give more details of that night. The characters were were not necessarily likable but in that way of building suspicion as I didn’t dislike them either. As the book went on there are a few twists and turns but the wrap up wasn’t totally a surprise to me so overall I rated this one at three and a half stars.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
What a gripping thriller.
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!
Wow what a brilliant storyline with a great twist, very gripping from start to finish a great read downloading another Miranda Smith
I thought this was a good, creative domestic thriller about a family on a surprise vacation after having gone through a horrifying home invasion almost a year ago
Wow! I enjoyed this one so much. Despite my busy schedule, I couldn’t help but devour this story. It really did not go where I thought it was going and I mean that in the best way possible. I felt so stressed out as the events unfolded, which is what I want from thrillers. I can safely say I will be purchasing Miranda Smith’s other novels and I can’t wait to read them.
Sounded like a good one. It started off well but very slow paced and I was urging it on to get to the good stuff. The story switches between past and present timelines which at times could be confusing. I felt like the read was just going through the motions but with not much going on. It didn’t flow well and the outcome really didn’t gel with the rest of the read. I felt like I started one book and read the ending of a different one the 2 were that unrelated if that makes sense. Personally I found it very unbelievable along with the characters not being overly likeable. Just wasn’t for me unfortunately.
2.5/5 🌟🌟/🌟
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this ARC that was published on the 4th of Oct.
Enjoyed this book
This book is told in the past and present
It will have you hooked
With plenty of twists
Thanks NetGalley
A year ago, Kate’s family experienced a terrifying home invasion. It’s not been an easy year, but everyone seems to be recovering. Except for Kate. Kate knew the intruder and feels responsible. She’s still hypervigilant and sees him everywhere, even on the vacation that her husband surprised the family with.
His Loving Wife was all around meh for me. It was described as a “completely unputdownable psychological thriller full of suspense,” but for the first 75%, I was sure that it was a family drama rather than a suspense. Even when the “thrilling” part came in, I still wasn’t invested in the story.
⅖ stars
Special thanks to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.
This book was so different from what I imagined it would be, it's not your usual psychological thriller, Murder from the start and finding out who'd dunnit, well, it's different, that's for sure, i can't say more without spoiling it.
This book quite literally kept me on the edge of my seat, had me gasping out loud with its unexpected twists and turns. This is hands-down one of the best psychological thrillers I've read read.
If you love psychological thrillers, then this one is definitely for you.
Thank you @netgalley & @bookouture for this ARC in exchange for an honest review💕
This is one of those domestic thrillers that’s quite easy to read, the kind you could probably finish in one sitting if that’s what you enjoy.
Kate and her family are traumatised when a masked man breaks into their home one night. Although Kate is terrified, she confronts him to divert his attention away from her children Willow and Noah. Even more shocking is the identity of the intruder: Kate’s ex-boyfriend. They all suffer in the aftermath and Kate also feels guilty that she may somehow be responsible. She finds herself always looking over her shoulder. She and Andrew go for counselling as their marriage crumbles. He seems to find more comfort from a group of men in an online group who support one another.
Then Andrew books a surprise vacation for the whole family in a remote cabin by the sea. It’s exactly the break they need to escape the ghosts of the past. Until it starts to feel as though, rather than evading danger, they are walking right into it.
The book alternates between the past story around the break-in and the present one in the holiday house. It's a slow burn until about 70% of the way through, when the tension mounts as the story changes direction and a new threat emerges.
I found the characters a little lacking in depth. I also wasn’t sure I totally bought into the motivation behind the big twist. But there are some really scary moments in the final sequence. It’s a good choice if you like the thrills and chills that come from a story with family secrets.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a review copy.
His Loving Wife by Miranda Smith is a psychological thriller with a good amount of mystery, intrigue and thrill elements throughout the book. The book starts with a family staying in a vacation house and the current events are interspersed with what the family had gone through over the previous year due to a traumatic event they had to endure a year earlier.
What initially begins as something, begins to evolve into something else and the ending was quite unexpected. I did guess it was going to be that about 60% through the book. But still it was interesting to see how the twist evolved in the end of the book. The author has done a great job of bringing forth a unique analysis of the human mind and its way of coping with things. Overall, I had an interesting experience while reading the book and worth 4 stars out of 5 according to me.
Thanks to the publisher, author and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review from me.
This book takes a while to get warmed up with a slowly developing plot. Kate and husband Andrew have been through a traumatic home invasion and having established that the intruder was known to Kate and was stalking her has caused something of rift in the marriage. Andrew turns more and more to an online self help group of men who have experienced trauma and a Kate accepts he needs this outlet to share his anxieties. However when Andrew takes the family on holiday on the pretence of having quality family time things take a an unexpected sinister turn. The final chapters were what I had been waiting for and were suspenseful and kept me reading late into the night. Altogether a reasonable read although a slight niggle for me was Kate and how naive and accepting her character was with regard to her husband’s growing involvement with the online mens group.
I really like this book, it was unputdownable. The writing is good and I like the way that the author mix past and present chapters.
I really don't expect that plot, I thought that it going to be totally different but this book really surprised me.
I want to keep reading Miranda books
I absolutely adored the writing of this book. The writing is done in a way that you really do find yourself in the cabin on the shore with the characters. It's slow paced, but in the most perfect way bringing just the right amount of suspense. Fantastic book, and the ending was top notch
This starts off in quite a heart racing way and you have this immediate sense of how frightening it must be to have a stranger come into your home....but you very quickly realise it might not be a stranger at all.....
Andrew and Kate are on holiday a year later and it looks like they have things back on track after their ordeal, but Kate is always looking over her shoulder and you get a sense that husband and wife are keeping secrets form each other.
A real page turner that keeps you guessing right until the end - I thought I had it worked out, but....
Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to review this book. This is my honest opinion.
What a brilliantly plotted, pacy, twisted read! A real rollercoaster of a story, full of twists I didn't see coming. Just loved this one. Can't wait for more from this wonderful author.
This is a neat psychological thriller that I found to be extremely compelling. Kate wakes one night to find an intruder in her and her family's home. A year later, they are all still trying to come to terms with the horrific event and Kate's husband, Andrew suggests a holiday. So off they go...
His Loving Wife was certainly a compelling read! Told in two timelines, the time of the incident and afterwards using flashbacks, and now, it is a captivating, warped and sinister tale. The conclusion, which is well worth the wait, is shocking. Very highly recommended.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Bookouture via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.
This book is a slow burn. Gradually it builds till you are racing towards the end at full pace. Not at all the ending I expecting which made the book all the better.
Really makes you think about whether you really know people at all.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an arc