My life was perfect until she came along. Norah.
Younger, prettier and about to marry my own ex-husband, they are a walking cliché.
I hate her. I hate them both.
She’s taken everything from me – my husband, my life, my home - but I refuse to allow her to take Cassie, my beautiful daughter. That’s a step too far.
Now I’ve discovered that Norah plans to have a baby of her own and that causes me no end of problems. She could destroy everything and reveal my deepest, darkest secrets.
That can never be allowed to happen.
No matter what it costs…

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

Alice Hargraves is a recently divorced fortysomething and mother of seventeen year old Cassie. Her ex-husband Mark is due to get remarried to Norah but when she is found dead all lines point to Alice - could she really be the proverbial woman scorned and resort to murder in order to keep her old life?

I loved this book! Alice is holding on by a thread after her divorce, her daughter is a typical moody teenage girl with a boyfriend who she doesn't approve off. Norah has something hanging over her from her past that is being threated to be revealed to her husband to be Mark unless she doesn't steal drugs from the hospital where she works. Alice is also harbouring a secret from her past that may be revealed when Mark drops the bombshell the he and Norah as trying IVF!

There are many characters that have a motif to kill Norah, and as the story progresses and you start to rule them out a twist pulls the rug under you that you will not see coming!

The Ex-Wife was a brilliant read that I could not put down!

5 stars

Blimey Riley! A page turner and a half! The book begins with Alice being on trial and then takes us back to six months earlier. Alice is divorced from her husband Mark and they have a teenage daughter Cassie. Mark now has a fiancée Norah. Norah has a demon from her past, something she thought she had put behind her. When walking the dog one day Alice sees Norah having what looks like an altercation with a man in the park. Cassie’s boyfriend Scott wants her to go travelling with him for a gap year, only neither of her parents are keen on this and she has no money. Scott appears to them to be a phase hopefully one Cassie will quickly grow out of. Cassie however is convinced she is in love. Alice has her own secret about Cassie, one she hopes will never be revealed but with Norah and Mark looking at IVF this might just come to light. Norah has been getting messages about her past and being blackmailed to get drugs from the hospital or Mark will be sent the video and pictures from her past. When Norah is found dead- who has killed her and is Alice really guilty?

Wow! A plot line that sent me reeling in a very good way. I turned faster and some more, rinse and repeat. This is very cleverly and stunningly written- there is a wonderful tension and character building. I liked Alice despite her hang-ups and Cassie was the typical naïve teen thinking they can take on the world- until it hits them in the face. There is a reeling twist and then another- heavens to murgatroyd! I fell off my chair- wow! Didn't see that first one coming. A cracker of a read. Sit down and hold on for the ride!
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#blogtour (amazon review done under Misfits farm)

The Ex-Wife by Sally Rigby; Amanda Ashby.
My life was perfect until she came along. Norah. Younger, prettier and about to marry my own ex-husband, they are a walking cliché. I hate her. I hate them both. She’s taken everything from me – my husband, my life, my home - but I refuse to allow her to take Cassie, my beautiful daughter. That's a step too far. Now I’ve discovered that Norah plans to have a baby of her own and that causes me no end of problems. She could destroy everything and reveal my deepest, darkest secrets. That can never be allowed to happen. No matter what it costs…
A good read. Bit slow. Didn't like any characters. 3*.

The Ex-Wife by Sally Rigby & Amanda Ashby

The book title led us to an interesting direction - the Ex-Wife, aka Alice, but it was layers under layers!

Mark Hargraves married Alice 17 years ago and now divorced because of a young beautiful lady called Norah. Mark and Alice are now co-parents of their teenager daughter Cassie. The Ex-wife Alice envied and hated Norah because her marriage was destroyed. Alice was actually afraid her big dark secret revealed one day, then Alice's live would be really ruined...

The story is well-weaved with 7 main characters. Fast-paced, jaw-dropping twists (once revealed the who the monster is) and addictive thriller. From the present to the past, disclose the history, the relationships among all these people and the reasons why they have to keep the secrets.. The Ex-wife includes some common family issues, teenage problems, trust, betrayal, revenge and drug/alcohol problems.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Boldwood Books and the authors for this addictive thriller.

Kindle: 316 pages
Pub date: April 19, 2023 (Happy Pub Day!)

This book gives new meaning to the terms "twisty-turny". In a good way. I quickly read through to the totally surprising, and somewhat abrupt, end. Along the way were many other unexpected events that kept me reading. With an ex-wife and a wife-to-be in the mix, this is sure to be a well-received book. I enjoyed the ride with this one for sure.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this advance copy to review.

As the great Sir Walter Scott said “Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive” - the perfect way to describe this brilliant thriller. This is a real page turner. Everyone is hiding their own secrets which they aim to keep that way even to the point of murder! I always wonder how two authors can write a book together but this pair do it brilliantly.

Briefly, Alice Hargreaves is on trial for the murder of her ex husbands fiancée and her daughters boyfriend. All the evidence points to her guilt and indeed she has accepted her fate and a long prison sentence. The story then steps back 6 months and sets out the paths taken by her to arrive at the point where she finds herself in the dock. We see the fraught relationship with her teenage daughter Cassie and her jealousy towards her ex Mark and his fiancée Norah.

Will the truth ever come out? Even the police find themselves making decisions which prove to have grave consequences. This nail biter just keeps on biting and when you think nothing further can happen it does! Twist after twist kept the tension high and I didn’t see that ending coming. Just brilliant.

The Ex-Wife by Sally Rigby and Amanda Ashby

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

My life was perfect until she came along. Norah.

Younger, prettier and about to marry my own ex-husband, they are a walking cliché.

I hate her. I hate them both.

She’s taken everything from me – my husband, my life, my home - but I refuse to allow her to take Cassie, my beautiful daughter. That's a step too far.

Now I’ve discovered that Norah plans to have a baby of her own and that causes me no end of problems. She could destroy everything and reveal my deepest, darkest secrets.

That can never be allowed to happen.

No matter what it costs…

My Opinion

This book starts with Alice being on trial for the murder of he ex-husband's fiancee and switches between the past and the present to catch the reader up. From the first chapter I was hooked on this book and I had to keep reading to find out if Alice was guilty or not. There is an awful lot going on in this book with a lot of twists and turns.

This is the first book I have read by this combination of authors, but with such an enjoyable, well-written novel, I am sure that I will be back for more.

Rating: 4/5

First, I want to thank Sally Rigby, Amanda Ashby, Boldwood Books, NetGalley and last but not least Rachel’s Random Resources for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.

WOW!!! Sally Rigby and Amanda Ashby make an amazing crime writing duo! Combined those two created a unique, fresh, addictive, twisted and fast paced read in The-Ex Wife.

Oh Sally and Amanda know how to capture my interest, grab my attention, and have me hooked just from the prologue alone! They just threw you in the middle of the craziness of the story-and I loved it!! It had a little bit of everything to want you to read on!

OMG if you like drama-family drama- then this book will be up your alley! Oh they definitely packed that in!

Sally and Amanda incorporated a very important subject IVF into the storyline. I found it very interesting.

I often wonder sometimes what the inspiration or motivation is from the stories I read. This time around I wondered which author came up with this twisted read. Not to mention I wondered which author wrote which part.

★★★★ 4.5 stars

This is the third psychological thriller I've read by this exciting duo in the form of "Amanda Rigby". And I've not been disappointed yet. This time I was stumped, hoodwinked, baffled throughout most of the book without a clue as to what was going on and who was really behind it. Until...I really started to puzzle it out. And boy did this dup keep me on my toes! I did work it out before the reveals came and I was too busy giving myself a pat on the back to see that ending coming. Just no.

Alice Hargraves is a recently divorced fortysomething mother of seventeen year old Cassie. She had everything going for her - a wealthy husband, a promising career, a happy marriage...or so she thought. Until Mark dropped his bombshell that he wanted a divorce as he had met young and beautiful Norah and wanted to marry her. OK, so she could live with that...although she did nurse the hope that Mark would soon come to his senses, ditch the younger model and come back to her. But two weeks out from their wedding and that wasn't looking likely.

And then he drops another bombshell. Quite by accident. He and Norah are trying IVF. They are planning to have a baby together. No, this cannot be happening. Suddenly, Norah is threatening to take everything else away from her carefully laid plans and Alice couldn't let that happen. And so what ensues is one bad decision after another which ultimately leads to Alice sitting in a prison cell awaiting trial for murder. How did it come to this? How did she get here?

Meanwhile, Cassie is your typical moody seventeen year old who thinks they know what is best for themselves despite their parents being the better judge of that. This results in a lot of door slamming, flouncing off in a huff, walking out without a word, storming off on a whim and bad - very bad - boyfriend choices. What do parents know? They haven't been their age for like a hundred years...and anyway, it was different for them back then. They wouldn't understand and they don't know Scott like she does. Of course, Cassie has the freedom to bounce back and forth between her father's mansion and her mother's terrace on a whim or whenever one says something she doesn't want to hear. Problem is, dad's house comes with Norah who is just trying too hard to be her new best friend. Whatever. Bring on her gap year when she can escape to Portugal with Scott...if her parents ever agree to it, that is, because how can she afford it without her father's money anyway? And Scott won't go without her...will he? She doesn't need her parents' drama on top of her own so she needs this escape.

And then there is Norah, who has her own secrets. Unbeknownst her, Alice saw her arguing with a face from her past but from what is she hiding? Alice certainly wasn't close enough to hear their conversation but she could see enough to know that it was heated. And then she starts getting text messages from an unknown number blackmailing her with a video from her past into stealing drugs from the hospital where she works as a nurse practitioner in the oncology department. It begins with five boxes, followed by a further ten and then a ridiculous request for thirty! But before she could meet the latest demands, Norah is found dead. Who killed her? And why?

At the halfway point, the story takes a turn and is then told primarily from the detectives POV as they investigate Norah's brutal murder. They think they have the suspect in their crosshairs when they are thrown a curveball and all bets are off. Everything points to Alice. The weapon, the motive, even the opportunity. Alice had a secret to protect at all costs. But is she really guilty?

THE EX WIFE is a stunning psychological and domestic thriller where I turned the pages at the speed of light. The tension was palpable throughout and I was completely baffled as to where this was all headed. I mean, everything really did point to Alice. But who would want to frame her? And why? If you could answer that, then you'd be halfway there. But there is no inkling throughout. Nothing. Until...a slight tiny little chink of light started to peek through. And I grasped it with both hands until I could make sense of it and had all the pieces. And then it hit me! All of it...until the very end. Like I said, I was too busy patting myself on the back to see that ending coming...and I was hugely disappointed with it.

The characters were a mixed bunch that I could take or leave. Alice made a lot of stupid decisions that made her look half crazy, and even stalkerish, but I liked her. I wasn't a fan of Mark purely for the fact that he could so easily dump his wife of fifteen years for a younger woman. And Norah, I didn't much like her for the same reason. Scott was a creep that just slithered around for opportunity - I didn't trust him one bit. And Felix was a little too good to be true.

In a tale that is layer upon layer of secrets, lies and betrayal...and ultimately revenge, THE EX WIFE is an intense and addictive read from start to finish...until the disappointing end which I thought was something of a letdown, all things considered. But one thing is for certain...it will keep you guessing.

I would like to thank #SallyRigby, #AmandaAshby, #Netgalley, #BoldwoodBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #TheExWife in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

I think this has become one of my new favourite books and authors for 2023! A very enjoyable read and also an ending that I did not predict.

The plot in this suspense novel is like a crack in a windshield—it splinters off into so many different lines and fractures.
Everybody had-s secrets in the book. Norah, the new model bride, Alice, the rejected ex wife, Cassie, the somewhat entitled daughter.
Piecing the clues together presented only shards of the entire story.
I kept asking what’s Alice hiding and who really killed Norah? The author does a good job of leading readers away from the real killer who is right under their noses.
It’s a good read that kept me guessing.

Alice and Mark had a happy marriage with their daughter Cassie but now it’s fallen apart. Mark is weeks away from marrying the new love of his life, Norah when Norah is murdered. Alice is the chief suspect. The story starts at the opening of Alice’s trial and then flashes back to the beginning of the story. This book is a steady story with twists coming out unexpectedly. I never knew where the story was going next but I was in for the ride. An excellent read!

Alice Hargraves is accused of murdering a man.
She has a daughter, Cassie, an ex-husband, Mark, and a dog, Hugo.
She does not tolerate her daughter's boyfriend.
I was left with the question of who really killed Norah Richmond? How did it happen that the murder weapon ended up in the main character's house?
Who framed our main character?
I couldn't wait to find out the truth.
I read the book with bated breath.
I watched Alice's trial.

The second character is Norah Richmond.
The girl is terrified.
Something happened in her past.
Now evil is back again.
You must know her story.
Norah is an oncology nurse.
She has experienced a lot of suffering in her work.

Another character featured in this book is Cassie.
She is 17 years old and is the daughter of Mark and Alice.
She dreams of taking a gap year and going on a road trip with her boyfriend Scott.
She works in a restaurant with her future stepmother's brother.

Why was there a murder, or even several murders?
I watched the whole thing with bated breath.
At times my heart stopped.
I found lots of twists and turns here.
I didn't expect this turn of events.
If you like strong psychological thrillers, read the book "The Ex Wife".

An interesting story, well-described characters and an unforgettable ending.
This book keeps you in suspense until the last page.

The Ex-Wife follows Alice, who's on trial for murdering her ex-husbands new squeeze. Seems straight-forward, right?

Of course, there's more than meets the eye in this story, because Alice is keeping a secret to protect her rather problematic daughter. Coming clean would definitely help her prove her innocence, but it would ruin her family...

This was such a page-turner!! I read it in one sitting and my mouth was physically, literally, and figuratively open as the twists and turns kept coming...!!

goodreads.com/booksireadandliked
Disclosure: I would like to thank the publisher and author for my advanced review copy of the book. This is my honest review

I really enjoyed this one, but I think the ending could’ve been better. I was left wanting more from such a great plot. The end seemed rushed.

This was an intriguing read, at times I really enjoyed it, at other times I felt it didn't really work for me, but all in all it was a good read. The people in this book are very dysfunctional, and to be honest, it was a bit hard to really root for anyone. Some of the lies people have told others were quite good, and a few took me by surprise. Towards the end the book got really good, especially comparing to some other parts where it felt like the plot wasn't really moving forward.

Oh! My! Stars! What a thrill ride. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars! Even so, I have to admit to having difficulty when I first started reading. The story is captivating, disturbing, twisting, and compelling. The problem is, I couldn't find a character with a redeeming characteristic to save me. They were self-absorbed, flighty, devious, whiny, manipulative, and downright mean. But please, don't let this deter you from reading the book. About midway through the story it literally kicks into high gear. There are revelations coming that I had no clue were even possible. And when you can catch me totally by surprise, that is a good thing. I can't recommend this book highly enough. This is the first book by these two authors that I have read, but I can guarantee you, it won't be the last.
I received a review copy from the authors at my request via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy of The Ex. A page turner from the beginning that kept me guessing. I was not anticipating the twists at the end. This was a great story.

What a shocker! I couldn't put this down and was I kept hooked until the very last page. When Alice is left trying to piece her life together after her husband leaves her for the younger Norah, who can predict what chaos and intricate lies will emerge? I really enjoyed this book and it seemed to continually pick up pace throughout. A clever spider web of deceit.