This is a fast pace thriller. I do feel parts of it are predictable, but it's one of those books you read and you second guess yourself everytime you think you have it figured out. Who do you trust when everyone is lying? Who do you trust when everyone has secrets?

I overall rate this book a ⭐️⭐️⭐️. Mainly because of predictability and I feel like I wanted just one character who has honest. It seemed to be a bit too much at times.

When I was younger I would commit the ultimate crime, I read the last chapter, first.

I hated secrets and I felt books kept them from me!!

I just had to know EVERYTHING without pause.

I have since overcome this slight jist of madness and I wanted to high five myself today on how far I have come.

I relapsed….

I was all hyped up and ready to go. Poured a glass of wine, hit the bedroom early, and grabbed my book:

The Wife in the Photo

Emily Shiner, you little rascal, you!

This book is twisty! The suspense was present early on and I just couldn’t help but take a peak at the ending! I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it!

This book is fantastic and even though I did cheat, I didn’t ruin the book for myself! There is no way I could when you have an author like Shiner, behind the pen.

Don’t believe me? Check out this teaser:

I pick up the photograph from their mantlepiece and carefully wipe away the dust. The beautiful wife. Supposedly happily married and enjoying a family vacation. I know her husband killed her. And I’m going to make him pay…

This is my first job as a housekeeper, but Evan Warner doesn’t need to know that. It’s the first of many lies I’ll tell him. He just lost his wife, Lola, and now he and his young daughter Jessica are adrift. But no amount of cleaning will rid this house of the secrets that have seeped into the cracks. I never forgave Lola for what she did to me. But I can’t let Evan get away with her murder.

In their impressive home, I busy myself preparing meals and peeking at carelessly discarded mail, looking for proof of his crimes. Evan hovers and I’m sure he is watching me… even as I bond with Jessica. But whenever he catches us alone together, his face darkens. I realize I have to get her out of this house before it’s too late for her, too.

Then I find Lola’s diary, tucked away in a closet out of sight. Her words, hastily scrawled on these pages, change everything I thought I knew about this family. As I hear footsteps on the stairs, I know I’m trapped. And I’m in more danger now than ever before…

The Wife in the Photo is a totally twisty psychological thriller guaranteed to keep you up all night. Fans of Freida McFadden, Gone Girl and The Couple Next Door will find it impossible to put down.

Good start of the book but then towards the end there were too many lies that it got confusing about who the actual murderer was! The climax was a bit unrealistic and was too much.
However, the storyline was good and very fast paced. Every character played a part and was interesting.

This one was one of the books I read in a day! Picture this : lying on a beach on a greek Island and having my nose in the book because I couldn't put it down!

It was great as it was written from different POV's and it had many twists - some where like : whoaaaaaa

But it was hard to root for any of the characters - as all of them were somehow awful or made stupid decisions. This is one of the books where you'll be thinking "well I would have done it differently".

A fun read though!

Thank you Netgalley!

This was a very fast paced read and it was easy to following along. I enjoyed the multiple POVs and short paragraphs. The ending had a lot of twists which I really enjoyed!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this advance copy.

This book is a fast paced psychological thriller told from different POVs. There are a lot of twists, lies, and deception.

I give it two stars because I found the book to be predictable.

After his wife's death, Chief of Police Evan employs Ariel as a house keeper to support him and his teenage daughter Jessica. But Ariel isn't who she seems. And as the tory unravels, we realise neither are Evan and Jessica. What really happened the night of Lola's death?

The story is cleverly told from the perspectives of different characters, including Lola's through her diary entries, which reveal the dysfunction within their family. The reliability of the narrator is brought into question for all of the characters, meaning that you are literally left guessing until the end of the book.

Thank you to the author Emily Shiner, Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fast read that will leave you wanting to read just one more chapter. I thought that I had it all figured out pretty easy on and was shocked at the twist that it took. Definitely read!

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were well developed and the story was engaging. I recommend that others try this book as well. Well done!

Outstanding read! I was glued to this book because I had to find out what happened. Just when you thought you had it all figured out the plot twist comes and knocks you off your chair. Must read for any fan of thrillers.

Holy guacamole, this book is perfect and insane!

You don't know who to trust, because throughout the book you learn that everyone has secrets. Evan and Jessica especially -- neither are saints!
I love how concise the book is. It has only the necessary amount of characters and places and POVs.
Wonderfully organized, it's a unique and exciting thriller with an insane twisty ending.

I love Emily Shiner's writing style. It's so easy-breezy. She never overlycomplicates. She keeps the reader engaged with just the right amount of detail. She's becoming one of my favorite thriller books authors!

The Wife in the Photo by Emily Shiner is a gripping and fast-paced thriller that kept me hooked from the very beginning. The multi-POV format added complexity to the story, and the plot twists kept me guessing. My only issue is thatI found the ending a bit unrealistic and rushed. Overall, it's a compelling read, perfect for fans of domestic suspense and thrillers.
Thanks to the publisher, author and NetGalley for the chance to read and review

I couldn't believe how quickly I read this. From the very beginning you will be hooked.

Lola has died leaving her husband and her daughter left to pick up the pieces. Her husband Evan hires Ariel as a housekeeper to try and keep some normality around the house and before long Ariel is investigating what happened to Lola.

This book keeps you guessing and doesn't stop the pace.

Excellent

This was a gripping, action-packed thriller with a startling turn of events. Three primary characters, each with different objectives, are included in this book's narration. Through her journal entries, Lola (the wife in the picture) gives us a look into her increasingly disjointed home life. The ultimate revelation is made all the more stunning by the fact that all of the narrators' points of view are full of deceits and falsehoods.

Lola was upset and fell down the stairs, a tragic accident that leaves her husband and daughter to pick up the pieces of their lives and move on without her. But was it TRULY an accident? Ariel doesn't seem to think so. After the household falls apart following Lola's death, her husband Evan hires Ariel as a housekeeper to handle domestic duties while he and his daughter grieve. Through Lola's journal entries and the real time accounts of Evan and Ariel, we learn that things aren't always as they seem--there wasn't one big happy family, Lola's death may not have been an accident, and grief may not always be grief. Even when it is, it can lead us to do crazy things for those we love.

The Wife in the Photo has been one of the best suspense novels I've read this year! There are multiple plot twists (some which you may seem coming, some you may not), and the characters all have their own motivations. The multi-POV format works with the novel to help you understand the complexity of the situation the characters are in, and paints the full picture of the events of the past and present. There are moments where it feels like every chapter tries to end on a cliffhanger or serious statement that doesn't feel natural, and I don't feel as though the title paints an accurate picture as to what the story is about--it does have a tie in, but it feels like a bit of a stretch to me.

Overall, this was a compelling read and something I would definitely recommend to fans of Criminal Minds or the domestic suspense genre as a whole.

The Wife in the Photo is a book that isn’t just fast-paced, it charges through at breakneck speed. Just when you think you are have worked out where Shiner is taking these marvellous manipulative characters, there’s a swift plot pivot that you don’t expect, you can’t drag yourself away from another chapter.

You won’t see the ending coming!

Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was a good read! I was shocked by the plot twist and was gasping while reading this. I was hooked and didn’t want to stop reading just so I could see how this was going to end. Everything I thought I knew, I didn’t and I love when thrillers are unpredictable. The only problem was that I didn’t feel a connection to the characters. Evan also frustrated me a lot. Other than that I enjoyed the short chapters and how fast paced this book was!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. Unfortunately it wasn’t for me. I DNFd it at 35%. I was bored. :/

Lola has just died, leaving behind her husband and daughter. Evan is feeling the pressure and decides to get some help around the house. Being the chief of police and a father are weighing him down. He hires Ariel, someone trying to get close to them to get to the truth.

As Ariel gets employed, she works hard to earn the trust of both father and daughter. They both act suspicious at times. I did enjoy the guessing game part. Unfortunately, the end just got a bit ridiculous.

I appreciate the opportunity of an ARC

4.5 Stars. Tense, edgy & compelling psychological thriller.
A very enjoyable psychological thriller. The pacing is measured at the start and fast paced in the second half. Great writing style with a gripping, suspenseful and entertaining plot. Multiple POV characters and diary entries, all easy to follow. Plenty of tension. I figured out who committed the first murder early on, but there were still plenty of twists after that. Edgy and unsettling at times with unlikeable characters, but still a compelling read with a clever and colourful plot. Recommended. Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley UK for the ARC.