Sometimes a book seems more like a mystery thriller than a psychological thriller even though the latter is how it is promoted.
A case in point is this book.
While there are touches of psych thriller along the way, I feel that it is more of a mystery. As Georgie protects her son and asks questions about the tragedy, the clues that are uncovered feel more like a whodunit.
Other readers may have a different opinion.
There are plenty of twists in the book and not all of my theories were correct. So, I liked that the plot is just complicated enough to keep me guessing.
Memories play a big part in the story. Georgie is constantly thinking back on past experiences with the Jacksons. She does have a particularly interesting observation early on, that memories are not always reliable.
Are they our own memories, or do stories that people tell us, become the memories? Where does one end and the other begin?
That plays a big part in the plot as well. Georgie eventually realizes that due to her situation, she has allowed other stories to taint her memories (no spoiler there).
The action is slow for a good part of the book, mainly as the author lays the groundwork. As Georgie gets closer to the truth and secrets are revealed, the story does pick up.
I think that is why I was surprised by the big revelation of who actually was responsible. It was abrupt and flew in suddenly. And then we moved to the epilogue (which felt a bit forced).
The characters are strong, however, and there are some good wrap-ups with earlier storylines. Grief is also accurately addressed, with each character acting accordingly to their points of view.
Overall, I did enjoy this book. I would recommend it as a mystery thriller. See if you can figure out the culprit before it is revealed!

Oh Wow !! How can someone’s life go from perfect to ruined in 0.5 seconds?

This is a book about perfect families, with perfect lives until the unthinkable happens. A desperate mother turns amateur detective despite her whole life and those closest to her being torn apart. How could Georgie’s sweet, gentle Sam be a murderer? What are all these secrets people keep hinting at? If it wasn’t Sam who murdered his perfect, beautiful, vivacious and much loved wife, Lauren, then who was it and why? The police are convinced that they have their man but have they? They say no one knows what goes on behind closed doors and that is never truer than in this fast paced, page turner. Nothing and no one is as they seem and the plot moves so quickly I was always a page behind with my theories. My solution was just too obvious and in a book of this caliber the obvious wouldn’t happen.

The shocks just keep on coming until the very last page.

A well deserved 5 stars from me.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture and Sue Watson for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This is the first book by Sue Watson that I have read, I think I may have found a new favourite author. WOW, WOW, WOW. This book gave me literal chills, I absolutely loved it. This book had me hooked from the first page, it proves that you can never really know someone. Just as you think you've figured it all out, Sue throws another curveball at you. This was an outstanding thriller with enough twists and turns to make you dizzy. I think this will be extremely popular, I can't wait to read more by Sue.

Another amazing book by Sue Watson!!
I just bloody love thrillers and Sue knows just how to write them. Gripping from the start and a real page turner.
No relationship is perfect, or families for that matter! I couldn't put this book down, I needed to know what happened to Lauren and I needed to know what secret she was hiding.
I thought I had it sussed, but I was so wrong! Such a roller-coaster ride with twists and turns that had me gripped right till the end!
Thanks #NETGALLEY and Sue for letting me have the chance to read this amazing book!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

My darling son, Sam, is marrying his childhood sweetheart and I couldn't be prouder of the man he's grown into. Walking out on his abusive father all those years ago was the best thing I ever did. And today he stands, tall and handsome, saying "I do" to my dream daughter-in-law. If I hadn't pushed them together all those years ago, he might never have found a girl as perfect as Lauren. But weeks later, Lauren is dead and police cars fill the driveway of their idyllic home. As they question Sam, I sense he's hiding something.

Three months after they were married, Lauren is dead. Georgie, Sam's mum, is determined to find out exactly what had happened. Suspicion immediately falls on Sam.

Filled with twists and red herrings, this story tells us how jumping to conclusions can be dangerous. The pace is slow in this character driven story. It's told from Georgie's perspective. I wasn't keen on any of the characters. This book will keep you guessing.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Bookouture and the author #SueWatson for my ARC of #TheNewWife in exchange for an honest review.

I have listened to / read most of Sue Watson’s books; The Sister-in-law, Our Little Lies, First Date and The Forever Home. All but one being four stars or above and this one is no different. Nothing is as it seems when secrets lead to lies – and in this story, there are a lot of secrets and a lot of lies to be had! This book has more twists and turns than a rollercoaster. The hits just keep coming right up to the epilogue and then, it leaves you at the possible beginning of a brand new crisis, wanting a ‘The New Wife pt2’ desperate to find out what happens next.

We don’t always truly see the people we love or the damage they do.

Georgie and Sam first met the Jackson family on Sam and Lauren’s first day of nursery at the tender age of three years old… One evening, three months after the wedding of the childhood sweethearts, Sam calls his mother, Georgie. Lauren is dead… and isn’t it always the husband? Suspense and tension bubble under the surface in this first-person narrative told from Georgie’s POV. Perception is called into question throughout this thought-provoking book. Is a good person who makes bad choices still a good person? Are you naive to take people at face value and are you only seeing what you want to see? What lies beneath the surface of the people we think we know? Tamsin Kennard is amazing as always as the narrator and I highly recommend the audiobook and Sue Watson rarely brings anything to the table but excellence.

Five big stars – thanks to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity of reading an advance copy for an honest review.

Ive read Sue Watson’s last few books and loved them so when I saw she had a new book out it was a must. I was lucky enough to get the audiobook and ebook and have been switching from one to the other at every opportunity. Both media’s are fab for this read and I couldn’t put it down. It’s a great psychological thriller with such a sense of intrigue and mystery throughout it. Your given enough information but it’s just not enough and you just have to keep turning those pages to get to grips with what’s really going on. I thought I had it sussed one minute the next I hadn’t a clue and my head was spinning with the twists. The characters definitely give you all the feels, one minute you like them the next you don’t and your second guessing everyone. It’s really well written and the pace is exactly how I like it. Yet again Sue Watson doesn’t disappoint. Loved it…

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture/Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to read/listen and review this ARC that was published on the 19th of Nov.

The New Wife spends a lot of time in the head of...no, not the news wife. Not the husband. Nope. The mother in law. There are conversations that take dozens of pages because for every line of dialogue spoken by any character we get to wade through the muck that is the mind of Georgie. What if they mean this? What if they mean that? On and on and on. So that when the next line of dialogue is spoken you can hardly remember the previous one. And then the long paragraphs of second guessing THAT line. This is interspersed with people just saying to her, "Oh, if only you knew." and "You don't know anything." A whole lot of trees could be saved if people would just say, "Look, here is what I'm thinking." or "Did you mean this or that?" A book cannot build suspense for me by these tricks. I would hav loved to delve deeper into anything other than Georgie's head.

Sue Watson has done it again with another fantastic thriller. I just love how her writing style draws you in and tells you the story as if having a chat with an old friend.

The New Wife has an eerie feel to it and is set in the wild desolation of dartmoor, under the shadow of the ominous prison. A perfect setting for a murder mystery.

As in her previous novels, Sue Watson throws in twists, turns and plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing. Everyone is a suspect and not to be trusted. Just when you think the story is over and everything is nicely tied up with a bow, there's one final twist. Just fantastic writing.

Lauren and Sam are childhood sweethearts that have recently gotten married. Just three short months into their marriage Lauren is dead. Sam becomes the prime suspect, but his mother cannot accept that her son is a killer. When Georgie works to clear her son’s name, she quickly realizes that those around her, her most trusted circle, may not be who she thought they were.
This book has some some very thrilling twists and turns. Several times I thought I had things all figured out and then find out I was totally wrong. The writing of this thriller is solid and I remained engaged until the final page! Thank you #netgalley and #thenewwife for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for gifting me a digital copy of the latest thriller by Sue Watson - 4.5 stars rounded up for a story filled with characters you won't completely trust!

Sam and Lauren have been tight since their first day of nursery school and their parents have been family ever since. Sam's single mom, Georgie, has loved a male role model for him in Tim, Lauren's dad. and Helen is her best friend. When Sam and Lauren get married, both families are thrilled. The couple buys a remote cottage which fits in well with Sam's job as an environmentalist but less so for Lauren, who has to make a long commute to her job as a doctor. When Lauren is found dead only weeks after the wedding, everyone is shocked and soon fractions are evident and sides are taken.

This was just a roller coaster of emotions that will leave you not trusting anyone. I kept changing who I thought the guilty party was and enjoyed all the unreliable characters. This book certainly is a reflection of the old adage that you never know what goes on behind closed doors. Another great read by Sue Watson!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This story is based around Georgie, a single mum, who has a son who has recently married his childhood sweetheart. And everything is just perfect, as Georgie really gets on well with her new daughter in law’s family as they’ve known each other for years, their kids grew up together. And everything is going really well, until her new daughter in law is found dead. And then secrets and lies start to become exposed, and the hunt is on to find out what happened that night.

This author never fails to write a cracking, page turning book. The story was strong, and the writing flowed exceptionally well. It was full of twists and turns, and really shone a light on how we don’t really know those who are closest to us, and how some families can hold decades long secrets. I felt that some of Georgie’s actions weren’t how a normal person would behave, especially when she found what seemed to be critical evidence and never did anything about it. Overall, I thought this was a great, page turning book and would highly recommend.

How well do you really know your family? Your best friends? This question gets a good workout in Sue Watson’s new book.

Single mum Georgie Moore and Helen Jackson, married to police officer, Tim, first met on their children’s first day at preschool. Sam and Lauren struck up a friendship that day that ended up with them getting married 23 years later. The marriage was a joyous affair, even though Lauren had some concerns earlier, but three months later Lauren was dead. She had fallen down the stairs in their remote cottage on the Dartmoor plain and Sam had discovered her broken and bloodied body when he returned home late from work that day.

Helen and Tim were broken by this. The two families had been so close before, having many relaxed meals together and even holidaying abroad together but things were very strained now. Lauren’s younger sister, 18 year old Kate, always awkward, became very uncommunicative while while Lauren’s best friend, Sadie, seemed to have no boundaries. Georgie had never really warmed to Sadie but admired the Jacksons for supporting the poor girl through thick and thin, paying her way and so on because her home life was disadvantaged and dysfunctional.

Things take a turn for the worse though when authorities determine that Lauren’s death was not an accident. They think she was pushed! Helen becomes more distant and sees things only through the bottom of a bottle. The joint family dinners are a thing of the past. An arrest is made. Then a different person is arrested. At this point you don’t know what to think. The pus of the lies and betrayal, which has been slowly seeping out, turns into a torrent and nothing can stop the train wreck that is coming.

Too much - possibly. Melodramatic - definitely. Fun to read - mostly except for when you are rolling your eyes, which happens a lot towards the end. Overall I enjoyed it but it was far from plausible. Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

3.5 stars rounded up.

I've read this book both as an ebook and as an audiobook and I've greatly enjoyed both, even though I'm a bit partial to the audio version because I think the narrator is super! She has a beautiful, soothing voice that hooks you to the narration.
This is a great story that I fully enjoyed, a psychological / domestic thriller with a spectacular prologue, just wait till you read the very last words: mind blowing!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An intriguing and enjoyable ‘family secrets’ thriller with twists and turns aplenty. This is a cleverly-plotted, well- written, character-driven story, with a setting that is both chilling and isolated, adding a real fear-factor to the suspense. The story is told from the POV of Georgie, the mother-in-law of the victim and her motherly instincts are clearly portrayed, inviting huge emotional empathy. This is a small cast of interesting characters, all ‘known’ to each other in some way and the reader will be constantly speculating to solve the mystery of who killed Lauren, robbing her of such a promising future.
There are clues scattered throughout, of dark secrets and heart-ache. I was left reeling at the lengths people go to to protect their loved ones. The main question is ‘Do you ever really know someone?’
My attention was held, suspecting everyone. The short chapters help the pace (mostly) and keep the suspense up.
Overall a cracking good read!

The New Wife is wonderfully slow burn read that will keep you guessing until the end,

Georgie's son Sam is marrying Lauren, daughter of Helen and Tim. The two met at preschool with a wonderful anecdote of Lauren screaming and crying, and Sam with his hands over his ears, goes over to Lauren and yells will you shut up? and she does. There a match made in preschool.! Over the years the families have bonded and became lifelong friends with Sam and Lauren getting married. Three months later Sam is calling Georgie to tell her that Lauren in dead.

The story is told from Georgie's point of view, which is interesting. Typically they are told from the police investigator's point of view. There is little written about what the police are doing and how they are investigation. But there is a point to this, Tim is a police officer, but as Lauren's father he is shut out from the investigation. Georgie tries to get information from Tim but only gets affirmation that Sam is innocent and all will be okay in the end. Georgie has been witness to many things but she appears to take them at face value and never questions the odd bits she has witnessed while spending time with Lauren's family because she envy's how perfect she thinks their family is. Lauren is portrayed as the perfect child while her sister Kate is broody. Sadie a friend of the girls (not so much in reality) seems to insert herself into many events also broody, coarse, and little manners due to her upbringing. Helen and Tim welcome Sadie and the others seem to tolerate her, and then the worse Sadie behavior gets. Helen seems to lash out at everybody once Laurel is judged to have been murdered. Sam is the primary focus since "it's always the husband" mantra is being thrown about often. Georgie begins to realize that the perfect Jackson family, that she admired so much, isn't nearly so perfect. In fact she hardly knows them at all as bits of truths are being shared with Georgie. Meanwhile trying to save her son Georgie will question everyone learning more but never enough to get the full story proving jumping to conclusions about what you think you know, without all the facts, can be misleading.

Another great read from Sue Watson, this is a psychological thriller with a difference, not just because there is the mystery of ‘whodidit’ running through the whole thing but because of the chatty style narrative from one of the main characters ( Georgie ), I loved it and felt like she was arm in arm with me some of the time telling me the story, at one point I thought she was going to offer me a cup of tea, I’m joking of course but you get the picture, it was reader involved and I felt part of the unfurling mystery
Make no mistake though this is a dark tale with some dastardly characters and the intrigue lasts pretty much up until the epilogue, it’s one of those that has you thinking and deciding who did what to who and then re thinking and re deciding
A really clever story that wont fail to impress and draw you in with the constant reminder throughout ‘do you really know someone’
Brill

10/10
5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advanced copies of both the ebook and audio version. I started with the ebook, but was having difficulty finding time to read and later requested the audio. I did enjoy both versions and especially the audio.

This is one of those books where our main character is a cringey amateur detective. None of the characters in this book were particularly likable, but it was a decent story with some interesting twists.

2.5 stars

The book has a promising start. A newly wedded couple and the bride dies shortly after the wedding.
Of course the main suspect is the husband, but the whole family is full of secrets.

The book has a good premise and the narrator does an excellent job. However, the action slows down pretty fast and for the most part the book is repetitive and very predictable.

Thank you Net Galley and Bookouture Audio for allowing me to read this book!!

Oh my goodness Sue Watson has done it again, I don't know how she does but her books just get better and better such a brilliant psychological family drama that I couldn't put down.

The characters were all great and well described and I was on the edge of my seat from the beginning until the very last page. This book just draws you in right from the start and you want to carry on reading more and what a brilliant ending which I never saw coming.

I can thoroughly recommend this book as all previous books from this author and thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this brilliantly addictive book.

A well deserved five+ stars from me, this is what I call a 'knicker gripper' and I look forward to Sue Watson's next masterpiece.