Enjoyable thriller,very good and surprising ending,……..neither Michael nor Cara are that likeable but that adds to the story ( well did for me ) overall a worthy read

Cara is married to Michael & they have two little girls; Laura & Olivia. Michael takes the girls on an overnight camping trip so that Cara can have some much needed alone time, but when he leaves the girls alone for a short time, when he returns they have disappeared. The police are called & Cara remembers a couple of times when a strange man has tried to get Michael's attention & been loitering outside their home, but Michael claims it is all a coincidence & that he doesn't know the man. Cara is sure he is lying but why would he not tell the police all he knows? When they find Olivia but not Laura, Cara is determined to find out what happened.

I was looking forward to this one due to the synopsis, but it was a little disappointing. The narration flips between Cara & Michael, but yet again, we have a unreliable female viewpoint due to mental illness which I think has been done to death over the recent years. Neither Cara or Michael are particularly nice people, the more the reader sees from their viewpoints, you realise how selfish both of them are. Most of the twist was pretty easy to work out too. Overall, it isn't a bad read but it could have been better.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Inkubator, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

This story has potential, good bones, but it needs some serious editing. It's overly wordy, 'that' is way overused, adjectives are repeated over and over. I struggled to stay in the story, which was unfortunate because underneath it was really quite good, gripping even.

Family Trip Turns Nightmareish….
The proposed ideal family trip away turns nightmareish in this straightforward, easy read suspense with a solidly crafted cast and an engaging premise. How far will Cara go to find her child and what secrets will be uncovered in the process? Suspenseful reading.

I hate to be a party pooper but I’m gonna be one of those (few) people who didn’t like this book. I’m sorry. But the story turned out to be half-baked and downright lacking. Like, I wanted more, I wanted to
feel more.


First off, the characters were ridiculously annoying and shallow. I was hoping that throughout the pages, I’d be able to see some major character developments, however, that didn’t happen. I think the author threw in the mental illness narrative to kind of push the motivations of one of the characters. I thought it would make sense. But sadly, it didn’t.

The plot twists were kind of meh and unexceptional. Like, “OK, that was it? Right.” The thing is, it started out so well. The writing was simple and easy to understand, I was totally expecting to be caught off guard by the unexpected twists and turns but it failed— big time. It’s a good thing that it was only a short read because I’d probably have clawed my eyes out if
it wasn’t.

Cheers to Netgalley and Inkubator Books for the ARC.

This was not an especially good choice for me. This is the genre that I like best but this book was a bit of a let down. The characters were not fully developed and some of the scenarios were unrealistic. Even though the story was interesting I felt the ending was probably the most unexpected and clever part of the entire novel.

Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

Welp this was a fast paced, heart pounding read!

We have Michale and Cara, the picture perfect parents, or are they. Michale has always wanted a big family and he’ll stop at nothing to get it. And Cara who struggled to get pregnant isn’t sure she wants anymore kids. This sets in nothing Michale’s scheming and it’s not the first time it’s happened.

I love a good domestic thriller, and even though this was an easy to follow book, that whine had me. Obviously like the title states, we all know Michael’s going to have more than one wife, but how he goes about it is odd. We start to learn more about Cara and honestly I think they’re so much a like as a couple that they don’t realize how perfect they are for each other. The end goal is they both want the kids and nothings getting in the way.

I really wanted to like this one! I usually don't love dual points of view but I think it really worked here. The pacing was great, causing me to speed through the entire book in just a few hours! I didn't love or connect with either of the main characters though, and the ending fell a bit flat. I also thought the four year old acted and spoke way too maturely for her age, and it was yet another book with mental illness as a plot device. It was a decent, quick read though and I'd definitely be interested to see what the author puts out next. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I enjoyed this all the way through but unfortunately the ending didn’t satisfy me. The characters and the plot were great. The style of writing was perfect which made it an easy read. I will keep my eye out for more books by this author in the future:
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Inkubator Books for the arc of this book. I enjoyed reading it, even though I didn't like or connect with any of the characters. Reading his POV gave a ton of clues that something wasn't right, so the reveal was not shocking. The writing was good and the book kept my attention. The ending was a big disappointment to me and besides not making sense made the book seem like hundreds of books out there. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this one. Very fast paced, had me turning pages as I tore through it – I had to see how it would end. The characters were well rounded and the narrative felt believable. Gave me chills. Solid five

I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book.

It was a great book. The two main characters have their own point of view between chapters. They have two children. Laura was from a previous marriage and Olivia they had together. Michael the dad takes the two girls on an overnight camping trip while Cara stays home. Cara realizes that Laura accidentally leaves her purple stuffed animal at the house so Cara packs herself a bag and goes to where Michael and the girls are staying. The girls are kidnapped and one of the girls is found and the other one is still missing. This book left me sitting at the end of my seat trying to figure out who kidnapped the girls.

I wanted to like this and it started out promising, but the repetitiveness and inconsistencies of the main characters ruined it for me. It was unrealistic.

Thank yoh Net galley for the arc of The secret wife




The plot of this story was extremely intriguing. Unfortunately I had a hard time getting into this story.

Two and half stars for me

This book had my heart racing!
The suspense kept me on the edge of my seat and turning pages as fast as I could to find out what happened. The action is non stop though out the book, there is no dull moments in this story, there's twists and turns all leading up to the shocking truth of why this little girl was abducted.

This one is definitely a heart pounding, anxiety provoking, can't put it down thriller! Ah! It was so good, now to recover and breath.

The Secret Wife is a story about a married couple that seem to have it all. Cara just wants a little time to herself so her husband takes their two daughters on a camping trip. When one of their daughters disappears Cara starts to doubt everything about her husband and her perfect marriage. A real page turner!

I enjoyed The Secret Wife but it did not grip me as much as I hoped it would. It was a quick read but nothing particularly surprising happened as I could see the twists coming.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for my ARC.

3,5/5
SUMMARY:
What happens when the perfect family trip becomes the perfect nightmare? Cara is a devoted mother to two little girls. She loves her hectic life, but she looks forward to a relaxing weekend alone while her husband, Michael, takes the kids on a camping trip. But their dream trip turns into a nightmare when their daughters are taken, deep in the forest. One is returned safe. But one is still missing. As Cara and Michael frantically search for their little girl it becomes clear that this is no random abduction – her disappearance is linked to shocking secrets which are only now being revealed. And Cara begins to wonder how well she really knows her husband. Is the stress making her paranoid? Or is she finally seeing him as he really is? Time is running out. How far will Cara go to find her daughter?
MY REVIEW AND THOUGHTS:
Plot: One of the highlights for me was the plot and the idea of this book. The secret wife is told in dual POV so we get to see the events through the eyes of our main characters:Cara and Michael. Usually in these kind of thrillers you only get one POV to keep the mystery alive but i found this book to give us more deep with the dual POV. We get to see Cara's thoughts and then Michael's. You experience what they are going through and it's a nice addition that makes the story much more complex because : who is right? who we can trust more? who is telling the truth?
Characters: I wasn't fond of neither Cara or Michael. Like any marriage both have secrets that they hide from each other and it raises a question: can we trust the person we love? are we supposed to spent the rest of our lives with someone we don't know or can't trust?. I found michael's pov to be a little more engaging but cara's was nice as well. I was personally not rooting for any of them at some point.
-Twists: As i said before the plot is what makes this book a good one. I was immersed in the story and I couldn't put it down. I didn't see some of the twists coming and others were predictable but it wasn't bad.
Overall i think the secret wife is a solid, addictive and unique thriller that will keep you on your toes until the very end.
Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with an early copy of this book

This isn’t my usual type of genre book but thought I’d give it a go. I loved it! It made me want to keep reading to find out what the secrets were. Well done!

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and opinion. This is the first book I've read by this author and I truly enjoyed her writing style. Quick, easy read that grips you from the first page Lots of twists and turns that will keep you guessing up until the very end. I look forward to reading more by Emily Shiner in the future.