Read as ARC (thank you @netgalley, @bookouture and @samanthahayes.author)
Genre: Thriller/Mystery/Suspense

Leah is starting over after a messy divorce. New house, new business, new neighborhood (one she actually grew up in). New neighbors move in next door shortly after she does and, SURPRISE! It's her ex husband and his new wife.
This is one of those books where the villain is able to turn everything on to the victim to make her appear crazy. Things start to go missing. Her new relationship is starting to fall apart. Her children are spending less time with her. And just when you think it can't get any worse- a burnt body is found on her property.
Now Caleb,her ex, is missing while also finding out her mother has a terrible secret. Her life is completely spinning out of control! Hang on for the twist ending!

Publication Date: June 28, 2022

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of Leah. She has finally rid herself of her abusive husband Craig and is starting her new life with their two children. A new couple move in next door. She meets Gillian who speaks of her partner Rex. Gillian hosts a barbecue and Leah is interested to finally meeting Rex after everything Gillian has said about him. Leah is shocked to find that Rex is actually Leah’s ex husband Craig. He immediately starts playing mind games with her. Leah really doesn’t know what she is going to do. It seems that she cannot escape her ex husband.

I really wanted to love this book but although it was entertaining I don’t think that it is a book that I will even remember in a few months time. I really wanted to like Leah’s character but she really frustrated me a lot of the time. The story was a bit slow at first but once it got going I started to enjoy it a little bit more. There were a few twists, a few that weren’t believable but sometimes you just have to go with it.

Leah is so happy to have a home for herself and her children. It's small and homey with a yard she plants vegetables in. It is the perfect place to start over following her divorce. It's like a breath of fresh air until her ex-husband Craig and his partner, Gillian moves next door. It's the ultimate slap in the face. This was meant to be her happy place but now it's a nightmare.

They share a wall, and she gets to hear everything. It literally keeps her up at night. Plus, Craig is pulling out all the stops, except no one believes her. Then there is smoke in the air and as the police arrive, secrets will be exposed, and questions will be asked....

This book had DRAMA galore. Leah is having a rough time and she doesn't help her case at all by her actions in this book. There was a lot of head shaking done by me as I read. Then there is Craig - he is a major piece of work! That's all I'm going to say about him!

This read like a nighttime soap meets movie of the week and I mean that in a good way. It was dramatic, full of 'interesting' characters, lots of tension, anger, outlandishness, and nonsense. Put this on your guilty pleasure list. This book has drama galore, and it is nonstop for most of the book. There are plenty of twists and turns which shocked and had me once again thinking that this book was full of all kinds of crazy antics.

This was a book I easily read in one day and enjoyed from cover to cover.

3.5 stars

#TheExHusband #NetGalley

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Well this was a book with a more grotesque start than I was expecting, nothing like a charred body to pique your interest. You will be surprised to learn though that things went even more downhill from there (in a good way I must add).

Speaking from experience there is not a divorced woman on the planet that won’t shudder reading this. Poor Leah has been enjoying her new home with her kids, finally free of Craig following a very acrimonious divorce. For him to only go and move in to the house next door with his new girlfriend. He is a manipulative, cheating, lying, devious, narcissistic gaslighter and his new woman Gillian is not much better.

It starts off with little things like stealing her bin and drilling a hole through her bedroom wall and then escalates with a sudden interest in having the kids when there was none before and turning her own friends against her. There is more but I don’t want to spoil the fun of you reading just how low he goes. I can say in all honesty this is the first book I have read which has made me contemplate murdering a character myself.

Then comes the twist………

This is one cleverly constructed thriller with crafty characters committing some seriously sinister deeds and I loved it.

'The Ex Husband' was an okay read - it started off very strong, I was intrigued and gripped by what was happening and keen to read on. As the book progressed, I found the writing style repetitive and it was a bit annoying. This book is very intense and it did keep my interest. Hayes does not shy away from hard hitting subjects so be warned there are triggering subjects.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advance copy.

Wow! I was really blown away with this book! I really am a fan of this author and should have known she’d never let me down. The plot was great as were the characters. That was also quite a twist.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well, to begin with, the pace of the book was a little slow which only increased in the last few chapters. As soon as I started reading, I was immediately drawn to the character of Gillian, who seemed at first instance, an independent woman with contemporary taste.
The first meeting between Leah and Gillian almost reminded me of A Simple Favour. I would have loved it if the relationship between Leah and Gillian had been explored more in the book. Gillian, as the story rolled out, took a more passive role, and her character didn’t make a meaningful impact on the story as I had expected in the beginning.
The book's first half didn’t build the kind of suspense that keeps you on the edge of your seat, but the second half had me gripped. I tried guessing the outcome, almost thought I had it all figured out, but I was wrong. I surely didn’t expect the way the book ended. Had the book been a little more fast-paced, I would have enjoyed it more.
Overall, this book kept me guessing what’ll happen next and was a good read on a rainy day.

Well. What a book, both intense and thrilling! The characters grabbed my attention from the start! Loved this book!

Thank you to the author, Bookouture & NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own!

Leah is a freshly divorced mother of two to 14 year old Zoey and 7 year old Henry. She recently got out of a controlling and abusive relationship with Craig, who repeatedly cheated on her, and now hardly ever sees his children or pays any maintenance. Leah recently started seeing Gabe, a tree surgeon and landscaper, who is a total opposite of Craig. As she doesn’t want to repeat the same mistakes, her and Gabe are taking things slowly.

Leah and her children have moved into a new small property, the Wash House, which is attached to an Old Vicarage, a grand house which now stands empty as the previous tenants have moved away. The Wash House and the Old Vicarage used to be one building, but were split into two properties.

Soon, Leah discovers that she has a new neighbour, a glamorous Gillian. She invites Leah round for coffee, where she discloses that she is married to Rex, who is currently away on a work trip.

When elusive Rex returns, Gillian invites Leah and Gabe round for drinks. You can imagine Leah’s shock when she discovers that Rex is Craig, her ex-husband…

Everyone around her keeps telling Leah that it will be great for the children to have their father living next door, but she isn’t sure. Her suspicions are correct, as from the get go, Craig plays mind games with her. Just small things to start with, but soon things escalate and Craig starts spreading rumours about Leah’s ‘unstable’ behaviour and tries to portray her as a bad mother. Even her children spend more and more time next door.

Leah’s mental health suffers as a result, but she is adamant she will uncover Craig’s deception and lies. Will she succeed?

You will have to read this book for yourselves to find out. I read it in two sittings, I was that engrossed in it.

I really liked Leah as a character, she was a good mother, who loved her children and would do anything for them. Craig was a sly and horrible man, he kept manipulating others around him and make people believe him over Leah. As I was reading the book, I was so annoyed at him and felt really sorry for the children, as they were in the middle of this awful situation.

There are a few twists in the book, I didn’t see them coming! Overall, I really enjoyed this psychological thriller.

Thank you to Bookouture for the e-ARC and to Sarah Hardy for inviting me to this blog tour.

This was a good read, Flew through it as it was a very easy read and flowed well, some areas I questioned the story but overall it was OK.

I have read a few Samantha Hayes books and think this is my favorite. I think it's really scary how relatable this story is. I can't say too much without spoiling the storyline. What I will say though is this novel is for you if you like a fast paced domestic thriller.
#netgalley #TheExHusband

The Ex Husband by Samantha Hayes is an absolutely gripping and suspenseful psychological thriller. Right from the prologue this book had me completely captivated and at times my heart was in my mouth as I was reading. There is one character in the book who really made my blood boil and so many times I wanted to reach into my kindle and slap this person so hard. I was so invested in this book that I read it in one sitting. For fans of psychological suspense thrillers I recommend this book 100%.

You always know you are reading a great book when the Oncology nurse had to shout my Dad's number out three times to go and have his blood test, he's deaf so it was up to me to tell him when he had to have it. I was right at the end of the book and I was so engrossed in the story nothing registered with me. It's another gripping, unputdownable, tension filled story and I must admit it's Samantha Hayes best book to date. I LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT IT! WOW, WOW, WOW!. All the characters are well developed and I really enjoyed getting to know Leah and her beautiful children. Her ex-husband Craig is a typical gas lighter and he was making me so angry, all I wanted to do was jump in the pages and kick him right between the legs and smack the smugness out of him. The plot's amazing and the twists blew me away, especially the final twist, which was mind blowing. I have no problems at all recommending this fantastic book.

Ooooooh … a new Samantha Hayes book! And it’s as much of a roller-coaster ride as you’d expect from the Thriller Queen!

Leah is finally free of her manipulative, controlling husband Craig. She’s moved into her new home with her two children, Zoey and Harry (Sprat), and her priority now is to keep them secure, happy and safe. She knows the house is small, and it’s a real ‘fixer-upper’ but she’s excited at the prospect of getting stuck in and making it theirs. She’s determined to make a go of things.

Her new home is attached to a much grander house, and the two were once part of the same property but have now been divided into two dwellings. The original neighbours who had been there when Leah moved in were lovely and they’d all quickly become friends, but then they’d moved rather suddenly and now Leah’s excited to see who’s moving in next door. She meets Gillian, her new neighbour, who’s rather posh, and basically the complete opposite of Leah! But she’s quick to invite Leah in and give her a walk-around, showing her how quickly she’s settled in. Leah’s amazed that everything has already been unpacked and perfectly stored and Gillian blithely tells her that she got in a company to do all that. Such luxuries that Leah could only dream of – she still has loads of boxes to unpack and they’ve been in their house for a few months now.

Gillian can’t wait for Leah to meet her partner Rex (who she lovingly calls ‘Rexie’) who’s away on a business trip. She assumes that Leah is married and Leah doesn’t correct her, so when Gillian hears that Rex will be home early from his trip she can’t wait to invite Leah and ‘husband’ over for a meet-up. Thankfully Leah is actually seeing someone: the very lovely Gabe, who she hasn’t yet introduced to her children as she’s being careful and taking things slowly. Strangely enough though, when they arrive next door, Gillian says she’s sent Rex out to find her maraschino cherries (of all things!) and he’s gone for what seems a ridiculously long time! When he finally returns, Leah’s senses are on high alert. She happens to walk into the room and he has his back to her … a back that looks very familiar. Which is not surprising, when ‘Rex’ turns out to be her ex-husband, Craig!

How has this happened? How did he find her? She was so careful to ensure he had no way of finding out where they’d moved to. But it seems that’s exactly what he’s done. Leah has no doubt that Craig’s move is absolutely deliberate, and that he’ll stop at nothing to make her life as difficult and uncomfortable as possible. He certainly goes out of his way to prove her right and doesn’t seem to have changed at all since those awful years she stayed with him, ending in a bitter divorce and Leah’s desperation to get as far away from him as possible. But moving again isn’t an option – she just doesn’t have the money. So what is she going to do and how is she going to prove to the world that Craig isn’t the wonderful person he’d have everyone believe that he is?

Samantha Hayes has succeeded in creating what much be one of the most vile characters ever written! Craig is a despicable narcissist of the highest level and I have no doubt that he’ll provoke the strongest of emotions in every single reader who comes across him! Although I understood where Leah had come from and what she was trying to escape, I did get a bit irritated by her description of her home when she first met Gillian: she belittled it to such an extent that it was almost like she was going out of her way to be subservient to this woman who she’d barely met, almost personifying her home and putting it in the inferior position that she felt she was in. This was the home she claimed to love and that was going to be her sanctuary!

Overall though, this is a great 4-star read, written in a way that makes you suspect every single character, even those with nothing to hide! You just become convinced that everyone must have an ulterior motive!

Leah has just moved into a new home with her children Zoey and Henry. She is so happy to be on her own and away from her abusive husband, Craig. Now, she can concentrate on fixing up the place as she wants it.

When she meets her neighbor, Gillian, on the other side of their connecting wall, the woman seems nice and says her partner Rexie is out of town. She then calls Leah and invites her and her friend, Gabe, to come over for drinks and to meet Rexie. She is shocked to find Craig is her boyfriend. She wants nothing more than to get away from him.

Soon Leah is awakened at all hours of noise from drilling and moving furniture. She doesn’t know what to do. When Gillian and Craig invite the children over for dinner, Leah has to let them go. Then, she sees all of the couples they used to be with have been invited too. She knows Craig is just trying to make her angry.

When Craig is reported missing, Gillian finds a burned body in the bonfire in the back garden. She is convinced it must be Craig.

As this story builds - slowly - I couldn’t help but be aggravated with Leah for sometimes putting herself in the line of fire with Craig. Some of her actions were so silly that I began to wonder if she had something wrong with her. As I approached the end off the story, a lot of loose ends came together making the ending quite good. So sorry, Craig, but I had to smile. What a mean jerk and how could Leah have put up with his abuse for so long? And her mother was a real shocker. Enjoy the story.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book is definitely what you would call a slow burn. I couldn't really relate to the characters and found that nothing really happened in the first section of the story. The author could probably cut it and nobody would notice the difference. Having said that the story was enjoyable overall and worth a read.

BOOKWORMS REVIEW:
There's definitely been an influx of domestic dramas on the book market lately,or maybe they have my attention because they're in my wheel house genre...I don't know. Either way this is a good one. Imagine escaping a physical and verbally abusive husband. Moving away to start a new life with your kids.,and finding out your new neighbours partner is,yep that's right..your Ex husband! He says it's complete coincidence and everyone can get along. Leah,our lead,has a blossoming new relationship with Gabe and Craig her Ex is trying every underhanded trick in the book to ruin it. I think I'd personally crack up if I was in this scenario and this is what Craig is hoping to achieve.
Things get worse when a body is found in Leahs garden. Yes,really.
Several twists to keep you guessing. Good characters and a villain that's easy to hate.
Great read!
With thanks to Samantha Hayes,Bookouture and netgalley for an ARC to read and review.

BOOKWORMS RATING 📕📕📕📕

Synopsis: After leaving her abusive husband, Leah is so happy to buy her own little house with her kids and start a new life. That comes crashing down as she finds out her ex husband moved in to the house next door with his new girlfriend. She is convinced it’s just to make her life miserable. When a body that is assumed to be his shows up in her backyard, things get a little complicated.

My Thoughts: This book was ok. It didn’t have a lot shocking or twisty moments for me. There was a lot of character drama which was entertaining though. It did make me feel a lot of anger towards Leah’s ex husband and I just wanted to punch him through the book lol. But overall, it was just alright.

Leah is finally happy. Divorced from a husband she feared and loathed, she finally thinks are looking up for her. She has her own business, a cute home that while needing some work is just perfect for her and her children, and she’s even begun to date again. Then she gets new neighbors. The lady of the house seems quite nice and she thinks they will be wonderful neighbors, but then she meets the lady’s partner. It’s her ex-husband! And him moving here is no coincidence. I really enjoyed Samatha Hayes’s The Ex-Husband. Great cast of characters…some you’ll love, and some you’ll love to hate. The is an excellent domestic thriller featuring an intense story with some wonderful twists. Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of The Ex-Husband.


https://www.amazon.com/review/R1CE6DR2026ZY2/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by Samantha Hayes - 4 stars!

Leah is excited to have her own house and some peace after her divorce from Craig. Her and her two children move into the Wash House, a small cottage next to a larger home. Leah is anxious to redo the house and especially the large garden in the back. Until the moving vans show up and she realizes that Craig and his new girlfriend have moved into the adjoining home.

We know from the beginning of the book that a body is found in Leah's backyard, but not the identity. Then the shift of the book goes back to Leah and her struggles with her ex. I don't want to give too much away - because that final twist is one I didn't see coming! Good escape reading!