3⭐
Genre ~ domestic fiction
Setting ~ England
Publication date ~ February 2, 2023
Publisher ~ Avon
Est Page Count ~ 375 (p+ 69 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 9 hours 23 minutes
Narrator ~ Rebecca Courtney
POV ~ single 1st person POV, present tense
Featuring ~ debut, multiple timelines, controlling husband, an abundance of unlikable characters, dumb choices, infidelity, murder

Classic case of a waitress rushing into marriage with a wealthy fella because she thinks she’s found the perfect guy with his charming ways.

They’ve only been married for 18 months, but Emma is thrilled when her husband, Tommy, is found guilty of having a firearm and sent to prison. Maybe she can finally be free of his controlling ways. Soon she finds out that Tommy has no interest in letting her go. With help from his mother, brother and lawyer, he makes sure Emma knows that she’ll never be able to leave him and MUST be waiting for him when he’s released in 5 years.

Y'all these characters were awful. And Emma makes some dumb choices. Girl, grab your sister and get out of there! But it’s like a trainwreck and you can’t look away just waiting to see what sort of mess will happen next.

Overall, it was fine for a debut. I was quite pleased with the ending.

Side note ~ love when the cover properly depicts the storyline, and this one's eye-catching.

Sadly this was really not my cup of tea. Firstly, I didn't realise it was a London gangster novel, which I am really not a fan of, but it also read like a school girl essay with word count being the main objective.

It went on too long with not much happening, then very far fetched things, then back to pages and pages of nothing. The ending was tied up far too neatly almost as if even the author got bored of writing it.

This is an easy read and is well written. There are many twists and turns. It is fast paced. The story is a bit one dimensional and repetitive.

A brilliant and believable account of being married to a gangster. Clearly a sociopath. Surrounded by people you can’t trust, this is a really exciting read. Liked the man character and the story was gripping.

A gripping read, Good characterfs and plot. I was drawn in straight away and it kept me gripped. Loved the twist at the end.

Fantastic little novel right here. From its haunting beginning to its hair-raising finale, this suspenseful journey kept me on edge until the very last page

Emma’s husband has been sentenced to five years behind bars something she’s secretly pleased by. What began as a fairytale whirlwind romance swiftly evolved into a controlling abusive toxic obsession. Tommy Emma’s husband is not prepared to let her go and as a notorious dangerous gangster, Emma’s options are looking extremely limited. The clock is now also ticking as Emma’s secrets start to unravel.

I thought this was going to be more of a psychological thriller but instead, we spend the majority of this inside Emma’s head where she internalises a lot of her own thoughts whilst also reminiscing about just how she arrived at her current predicament. I found it mostly ok a trifle long-winded and quite slow and somewhat predictable with not a lot occurring here to keep my attention. The ending well it kind of resolved itself with Emma not having to do much at all to achieve her end-goals.

The writing was good and I found the writing style easy to follow it just was not much of a page-turner as there wasn’t a great deal going on. It also felt a lot depressing defeatist and morose. Overall this one just wasn’t my cup of tea but there wasn’t really anything wrong with it either. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of The Prisoners Wife.

Thank you NetGalley, Avon Books and also Ali Blood for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Albeit now a little delayed.

I read this alongside listening to the audiobook and I much preferred reading the book. I could not enjoy the narrators voice of the main character, Emma. My biggest praise for the author is the ability to create such a realistic narrative that this book should almost come with a trigger warning for anyone who has been within a domestically abusive or coercive and controlling relationship. It astounding how well this was portrayed with Emma that I almost want to refer to her as 'the victim'. For anyone having not experienced this behaviour, or have any knowledge in the area, I can imagine it becoming quite frustrating to the reader, having a similar to response to that of Emma's sister, who just wanted her to leave and divorce Tommy. This is portrayed as a bit of a 'gangland thriller' but the actually gang side of things is periphery to that of domestic abuse - it just is more likely due to the character that Tommy Driscoll is and what he will therefore be able to achieve.

The end was a nice touch. I wasn't sure how it was going to be summed up but that was actually quite clever. I'll keep an eye out now for more from this author.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book
The book was such an easy read. The writing flew perfectly through the chapters and it was a book that I was looking forward to picking up.
I really sympathised with Emma in this book, a prisoner in her own home.
I hated the company her husband kept and really was routing for her to escape the awful life she had
I loved the ending, despite guessing it
Overall, a good read which I would recommend

The download date was unfortunately missed, I would be happy to re-review if it became available again. I have awarded stars for the book cover and description as they both appeal to me. I would be more than happy to re-read and review if a download becomes available. If you would like me to re-review please feel free to contact me at thesecretbookreview@gmail.com or via social media The_secret_bookreview (Instagram) or Secret_bookblog (Twitter). Thank you.

This is one of those books that I just had to finish, although I cannot put my finger on what exactly drew me in.

Emma met and married Tommy after he swept her off her feet in a whirlwind romance. She had no idea he was in organized crime. Tommy's now in prison, swears he is innocent. Emma wants out. But Tommy isn't going to let her go.

A lot of this was hard to believe. It was fast paced and while even Emma wasn't completely likeable, you are rooting for her to get out from Tommy's grasp, and that of his mother and brother. Something kept me reading and I felt like I had to know if she could get away.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a different type of thriller for me as gangsters aren't really my thing. However I was totally surprised, this was so cleverly plotted with an ending I could never have expected. The twists and turns had me turning the pages at breakneck speed. Ali Blood will definitely be a new TBR author because this was brilliant.

This was a good book, although the main character was frustrating at times which let the book down in my opinion.
Despite that, it's still a solid four out of five for me

Absolutely loved this book. Its great. A story of a gangster behind bars and the wife who needs to escape from the control her exerts over her. Great book.

This story about the wife of a convicted gangster whose life is still controlled by his family fails to convince. I found that there was far too many descriptive passages about the nature of the relationship and as the story unfolded it failed to convince. Sorry this one was not really for me.

Unfortunately, I was left underwhelmed with this book. I didn't get on well with the narration, a bit too much time was spent on the lead characters pondering which was weak. It left me not really feeling for the character and finding her a bit annoying. Some of the storyline was a bit far fetched and the ending was abrupt and a bit meh! The premise was ok however but it just lacked any thrills and excitement that makes a good psychological thriller.

After reading the synopsis I was excited to read this book. Unfortunately it failed to deliver for me.I found it to be repetitive in some parts and a bit over the top. It was all one sided and it would have been nice to hear from the other perspective.

This was an interesting idea for a book. The threat to Emma from her gangland husband Tommy and his family was menacing. For me the story slowed down throughout the book and I found myself irritated with Emma for her attitude. The ending was good although it was all neatly wrapped up in a few pages at the end. Overall I enjoyed reading the book.

Her Husband might be in prison but she is the one living in cage. A seemingly perfect marriage becomes a descent to hell with a manipulative criminal husband and the twisted family coming with it. Emma needs a way out but at what cost? A really riveting and tense read with so much deception and unexpected turns you might get whiplash!

A great book a great read I must say this is in my top ten books absolutely loved it I would defo read again !!!!The twists and turns are just great !!!!