I’m a huge fan of Jessica Payne’s work, and was very excited to get an early copy of Never Trust The Husband.

What happens when your best friend gets engaged to your husband a few days after her death? Gwynn, Madeline’s best friend did just that shortly after her death … Who pushed Madeline to her death and why? Who can you trust?

Full of clever twists and turns, this book kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what was happening. A totally addictive and chilling thriller with twists you wont believe. You’ll want to read this one!

Huge thanks to Bookouture for an early e-arc.

Wow, this one was a whirlwind! The premise is completely unique and not one I have encountered before. I was immediately sucked in and needed to know who the person to blame for trying to kill the main character was. The book is centered around figuring this out and just when you think you've got it all figured out, another twist throws you for a loop and changes everything you thought you knew. The ending was so exciting, twisted, and filled with karmic justice. It was *chefs kiss*. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Psychological thriller are my go-to books. After reading quite a few, it takes a very good to manage to impress me. This one kept me guessing till the very last page, and I definitely did not see that twist coming. This is a fast paced book.

Thankyou to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.
I really really enjoyed this title!
Jessica Payne has done it again!
I have really enjoyed all my books that I have read from her!
It has everything you want, suspense, intrigue, double crossing and betrayal.
This book had it all!
I found myself obsessed with reading this book until I could finish it and discover what was happening!
Found myself getting whip lash with this book thinking I knew what was happening but boy I was wrong!
Highly recommended this book!

DNF @ 10% - No Rating.

I’ve officially hit a reading rough patch – two dnf’s in a row. I knew I was in trouble when this was the opening paragraph;

‘The sky is the darkest I’ve ever seen it. Darker than it is in the city, darker than any destination I’ve visited on vacation.’

And apparently the narrator of this chapter would usually be scared of such darkness in any other situation except in this instance she finds it romantic. She then leaves her tent to climb to the top of a cliff to take the perfect shot with her camera even though it’s pitch black?? Also, she doesn’t really trust anyone she’s camping with so naturally she’s pushed off the cliff. And that’s the prologue over.

Never Trust the Husband has a 4.18 average rating on Goodreads, so other readers have enjoyed it, but I can’t get my head around the way it’s written, and with so many books on my tbr I’m moving on.

I’d like to thank Netgalley, Bookouture, and Jessica Payne for the e-ARC.

This psychological thriller has all the appropriate elements: revenge, jealousy, greed, envy, enabling......attributes the author equipped all the characters to model throughout the book. It was hard to know who to hate most as the story evolved, it changed in every chapter.
    Two main characters are the voices that tell the story.....one told the back story, the other the present.  One of which I was unsure of well into the book.....there were several options in my imagination, and it took more information for me to realize the source of the voice.
    Because none of the characters trusted each other, there was a constant theme of furtive characters watching each other; to the extent you couldn't keep track of who was watching who.
    It all comes to another giant final twist at the end, that again I wasn't prepared for.
    While some life events that happened may have been a stretch in reality, you could slide over them in anticipation for what would happen next.
    Husbands, best friends, sisters.........none are above reproac

Never Trust the Husband
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Author: Jessica Payne

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Bookouture and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Every night I watch Benjamin and Gwyn in their gorgeous, glass-fronted Seattle home. Your ex-husband. Your best friend. Newly engaged, they’re busy dreaming of their future.

The official story is that you disappeared, but I know the truth. They killed you.

I know Benjamin’s new business is in trouble, that he desperately needs your money. I saw the way Gwyn looked at him at your wedding reception, finding any excuse to be close, to laugh too loudly at his jokes. After all, she always wanted your perfect life.

But don’t worry, Madeline. I won’t let it end like this. I can see everything from my place in the shadows between the trees. With their house lit up, they are on display. I’ll bide my time and worm my way into their home, their lives. They will never know the truth about who I am.

You didn’t get your happily ever after, and neither will they…

My Thoughts: I have read every one of Payne’s novels. Payne has a way with the embedding of her twists that really is thought-provoking. I stumbled upon her by accident on NG and have ever since looked out for her new novels. This one is no exception with a very compelling plot line. “Rebecca” is laying in wait, just watching Madeline’s ex husband and best friend build her life, her happily ever after. Except Madeline is no longer here because someone killed her and Rebecca will make it her dying breath to figure out who, why, and how. Three years after Madeline’s disappearance, Rebecca starts to investigate. There were assumptions made about how Rebecca plays into this storyline. Rebecca is engaging in a very dangerous cat and mouse game with a lot of unknowns.

The story is narrated by “Rebecca,” in the present, and Madeline in the past, both of whom are unreliable at best. The story opens up with a bang in the prologue. We have several characters, they are all fairly well identified and easy to follow. Madeline, wealthy heir who never thought she would be tied down. Benjamin just caught her attention on a girls night out and fascinated her in ways no other man could. The whirlwind romance ends up in a beautiful wedding. Benjamin states a honeymoon is off the table right now due to a storm, so they decide to take a hiking trip with their closest friends. During this trip, Madeline disappears, then the book skips to almost three years later. I do want to mention here that belief has to be suspended a bit for this storyline but I did not mind. The characters were well developed with depth, mystery, a healthy dose of suspicious behavior, passion, and were creatively curated. The author’s writing style was complex, twisty, suspenseful, and well paced. The characters were built up and developed, a healthy dose of red herrings, and then the plot was delivered in twisty layers. Even assumptions had twists in it and the ending was one that was unpredictable, exciting, captivating, and had more twists in the ending.

This story was captivating, gripping, compelling, dark, and disturbing psychological thriller that will keep you on your toes. The storyline had secrets, betrayals, and lies, always a fantastic combination for a thriller. I would say up reading because I had to see what happened at the end. Payne did not disappoint in this fourth novel of hers. I highly recommend for other readers to pick up. This book is available on KU.

Very clever story with some major twists! Nothing is what it seems.
Just when you think you know what's going on, everything tilts slightly, right up to the end.
I found it hard to put this book down.

Never Trust the Husband was one of domestic thriller I really anticipated this year. The synopsis instanly grabbed my attention and the plotline wasn't sound lazy. And chance to get strong revenge story is filled me with tension.

Sadly the final result wasn't reach it is full potential. I enjoyed the writing style, it is accessible and easy to follow. The characters less fleshed out for me. Some part of plots are overdramatic, repetitive and unbelievable. It is like I cant questioning anything if I want keep the plot going on.

I still found this book is predictable but entertaining enough with twist and turn for the fans of the genre.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for providing copy of this ebook. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Expecting Publication : 5 March 2024

I surprised myself by how much i liked this book!

It was twisty and tense in all the right places. I had a guess at what was going on and i was sort of right but nope! I got the wool pulled over my eyes completely.

I love books that have a dual timeline and/or different POVs and this book did that really well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this review.

Having previously read one of Jessica's books , I couldnt wait to dive into this one. I really love the way she writes. With themes of jealousy and revenge a combination that will have you flipping those pages.

The story is told between Maddy (from the before) and Rebecca (from the now) … Maddy tells us her story about how her and Benji got together where as Rebecca is an old friend, changed her appearance, name, everything. Her aim is to find out what really happened back then, and get her revenge.

Never Trust The Husband was a slow burner to start off with, but that’s not a bad thing, it gives way to lay the back story for us, introduce us to the characters and form our connections and judgements.

I was hooked really early on in the story, as nosey as I am… I NEEDED to find out what happened.

Who did this?

I felt a good connection with each of the main characters, Maddy as she was. Benjamin and even Gwyn. I didn’t want to believe they could be so callous and sinister. As the arm chair detective that I am, whilst reading these pages my mind is working overtime to try and figure it out, because clearly it had to be someone else? Right?

AND…. Then I’m come the twists!!

Not just any twists!

Those jaw dropping. SHUT THE FRONT DOOR type twists.

One after the other, like a blind loopy de loop rollercoaster.

Needless to say, this book was incredible. The characters were written perfectly. Who do you trust? You like them all!!

This is most certainly a book to add to that TBR for all the psychological thriller lovers out there!

This was a readable and twisty thriller - it surprised me at how good it was! Twisty and well-written.

Easy read - although a little slow at the beginning. The character of Rebecca/Madeline seems slightly askew with her motives.

I also find it unusual that she trusted Kip even though he knew the whole length of the story what Elena was up to, but didn't tell Rebecca. "Oh I wasn't 100% sure so I didn't say anything when you appeared at my doorstep half dead? That was the major plot whole for me. Besides that good suspense story.

Also perhaps you should know whom your sister dated? or should've found out who the ex was? Overall the main character was a little naïve for my taste.

Love her books and flew through this one! Madeline was pushed off a cliff on her honeymoon trip with other friends there and husband, Benjamin has moved on with another woman fairly quickly. And in another scenario, Rebecca is a travel nurse and has her own issues with her boss as well as a crush on her neighbor, Chris. In this wonderfully convoluted--my favorite kind--plot these two crazy storylines merge as we meet many devious and strangely conniving characters that each have their own agendas that can't possibly be connected...or can they?
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

This is my first book by the author and she didn’t disappoint me at all.

You’ll meet Gwyn, the backstabbing best friend who killed Madeline, and Benjamin; the cheating husband. Now they are together but Madeline is no longer in the picture.

Thought the first half of the book, I was curious about Rebecca. What’s it to her about Madeline? Who’s Madeline to her? So you’ll get know while reading this book step by step.

I was completely captivated from start to finish! If you are looking for an addictive and unputdownable psychological suspenseful thriller then this is the book for you!

I received this book as part of a book tour. I haven't read anything by this author and I was pleasantly surprised. I was intrigued by the plot and enjoyed the read. It was a perfectly paced thriller that had characters that you both loved and disliked. I am excited to see what this author has for the future!

I really enjoyed this, fast paced with good character development and some decent twists and turns! A great thriller read and one I would definitely recommend.

Never trust the husband. I like stories from different viewpoints so you don’t know who to trust or who is narrating. There was a lot of guessing in this book. But parts weren’t realistic to me. Madeline is murdered and years later her sister befriends the people that she thinks did it, Madeline’s husband and best friend. But how quickly she becomes friends with them is weird to me. They meet once and all of a sudden she’s invited into their house and knows their whole life. She changed her appearance with plastic surgery so they don’t recognize her. I did guess the ending before it go to it.

WoW this book Never Trust the Husband by Jessica Payne is a psychological thriller and was so good I could not put this book down once I started to read it, especially as it had me guessing till the very end. It was fast paced and with lots of twists and turns throughout which made it a rock ride......I loved it.

I highly recommend this book and its a great book for your day off or your holiday.

Big Thank you to Netgalley and especially Bookouture for my early ARC.