The Scorned Wife by Theo Baxter is a gripping psychological thriller that explores the dangerous consequences of revenge and obsession. The story follows Amelia, a woman who, devastated by her husband Sam’s affair with her younger sister, Cara, decides to hire Damon Chase, a charming actor, to pose as her boyfriend and make her family jealous. What begins as a clever scheme to get back at her unfaithful ex-husband quickly spirals out of control when Damon, initially a mere pawn in her game, develops a dangerous obsession with Amelia.

Baxter skillfully builds tension as Damon’s intentions shift from temporary revenge to something far darker and more manipulative. Amelia, initially empowered by the success of her plan, soon finds herself trapped in a nightmare as Damon’s obsession grows. His obsessive behavior and lack of boundaries transform him into a chilling antagonist, and the suspense builds as Amelia must find a way to escape the toxic grip he has on her life.

With its compelling mix of romance, suspense, and psychological drama, The Scorned Wife will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Baxter’s portrayal of Damon is particularly unsettling, creating a character whose charm and menace collide to create a truly unnerving antagonist. This book is perfect for fans of dark psychological thrillers, where the line between love and obsession becomes dangerously blurred.

This book was the antithesis of an independent woman making good decisions. Amelia might be my least favorite character of all time. She makes terrible decisions. She lacks self-awareness. She imposes on literally everyone around her. She claims to be an adult but has no interest in actually supporting herself for most of the book. She ignores red flag after red flag. She’s basically a toddler who also happens to be an adult.

The writing was fine, if not a bit repetitive. None of the other characters were at all interesting except for Damon. I kept waiting for another twist but was let down. I did very much enjoy the intrigue and suspense when we realized what might be happening…but I wish it had gone further in developing the characters.

What a life! How does a young woman live with her family always down on her? Always accusing her of wrong doing.

For Amelia it was hiring a male escort to a family get together who will play the part of her boyfriend and deny her younger sister what she wants. All to make her family see how miserable they are and how miserable they have treated her her whole life.

Even though the results are what she hoped for she soon realizes the escort isn’t who she thought he was and has now been forced into hiding to get away from his stalking, murdering behavior.

Story kept my interest but wasn’t as exciting as it originally sounded.

A wild and fast read. Finished it in a couple of sittings. Characters were just as expected. Messy, messy, messy!! I couldn't believe how quickly involved I became. Cannot wait to read more by this author!!

#THESCORNEDWIFE. #THEOBAXTER. #NETGALLEY

So many plot twists in this book! What a great thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. I will recommend this book to all my friends. The author is definitely pulling you in throughout the whole book. Recommend 5 stars!

Theo Baxter is great for popcorn thrillers and this one didn’t disappoint! ! Loved it! Highly recommend you check it out !

Wow, just seriously twisted, and then when you think it can't get even more messed up, it does.

This book is the 'hold my beer' of the 'hold my beer's.

Thank you NetGalley and Inkubator Books (publisher) for my RDC in exchange for my honest review.

Damon will do anything to get what he wants. This time, her name is Amelia. Amelia was deeply in love with her husband, Sam. Until she discovered he was having an affair with her younger sister, Cara. Ever since, Amelia has had to sit by at family events while her sister and ex-husband flaunt their passionate relationship. Tired of being seen as a loser, Amelia hires stunningly handsome actor, Damon Chase, to stand in as her boyfriend. A plan that works better than she ever hoped as pathologically competitive Cara throws herself at Damon, causing an acrimonious breakup with Sam. But Amelia doesn’t get to enjoy her moment of triumph for long. Because Damon suddenly announces that he’d like to start dating for real. And he’s not taking no for an answer. As he begins to stalk her, Amelia realizes she doesn’t really know this guy, that he may be dangerous. A fear that is confirmed as her life spirals down into a relentless nightmare and she finally gets to see the real a man with no boundaries, who will do absolutely anything to get what he wants - her. The Scorned Wife – the gripping psychological thriller by the best-selling author of The Hollow Husband.

Once again Theo Baxter wows me with another amazing thriller. An addictive read that I could not put down. Will recommend to others who enjoy thrillers.

This psychological thriller has a lot of twists and turns along with plenty of suspense but a lot of it seemed a bit unbelievable and over the top. When adding in the fact that most of the characters seem thoroughly unlikeable, it was almost a struggle to get through this book. I love psychological thrillers so I stuck with it but felt somewhat unsatisfied when I was finished. The premise was great and I feel this book should have been so more than it was.
Thank you to NetGalley, Inkubator Books, and Theo Baxter for the chance to read this advance copy in exchange for my opinion.

This came across at a teen drama instead of a woman of Amelia’s age. Her husband leaves her for a younger woman who turns out to be Amelia’s younger sister. I know this does happen in real life but man, this was very ‘in your face’. The characters are insanely unlikeable. The circumstances are bizarre. All which made it a quick, easy read because I had to see how the train wreck ended.
While this may seem like a negative review, it’s not. I feel like the writer purposely wrote the characters to be unlikeable and the circumstances bizarre, so this is a kudos to Theo Baxter for being successful.

This was a dark and twisty story that kept me guessing and wondering how it was going to play out. Pick this one up if you are in to psychological thrillers. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Twisty psychological thriller with some interesting characters. Moved along at a steady pace. A good read.

This was an enjoyable read, although at times I found it hard to understand the timelines of the story it was a good read, I felt the ending was a bit rushed but the story was still thrilling

I love a quick and dirty popcorn thriller (I mean this in a good way!). A sister steals her older sister's husband and now the jilted sister wants revenge... Juicy premise!

Unfortunately the book didn't work for me. The characters are superficial, bland and all over the place. There were no heroines/heros or villians to me as everyone was just blah and did not have distinctive voices. There is also a lot of repetition in the book. How many times are we going to talk about Damon's texts, that Mark has dogs! and listen to another nearly identicial call with Amelia's mum ? This really slowed down the pace of the book for me until it was a push to get to the end.

Great premise, but this wasn't the book for me. This is my personal reading experience and I always encourage people to consider different POVs when they're looking for a new read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the gifted arc.

The Scorned Wife takes us on Amelia's journey after breaking up with her husband. It may have been easier to get over had it not been for Sam's affair. To make matters worse, Amelia finds out who the new younger woman is at a family dinner - her own sister who has a habit of stealing every boyfriend Amelia has ever had. Amelia decides to get revenge by hiring someone to pretend to be her boyfriend and rejecting her sister in an embarrassing way. However, things don't go quite as planned when the man she hires begins stalking her.

I have read a few Theo Baxter books and what I like about all of them, this one included, is that they are easy reads with a few unexpected twists. Most of the characters are people we can all relate to and there is just enough character development to find yourself rooting for at least one of them, or hating another. The writing style is great and the story flows nicely. There are a few twists but nothing totally crazy that makes you question the authenticity of the story. It's a quick read, which I absolutely love in between intense, dark books, but still gave me the thriller sense.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes getting under a blanket on a lazy Sunday and devouring a book in one read.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book for free. This was my honest review.

I really looked forward to reading this psychological thriller because it’s my favorite genre, and I really loved the summary of the book. A bitter ex wife that was out for revenge after her divorce that comes up with a plan to get back at peoole was right up my alley. Unfortunately this book did not do it for me at all. I loved the premise of the book but the majority of characters in this book were all so unlikeable even the main character (Amelia). There were too many parts that were repetitive where it took away from the story a lot to me. I did enjoy Wendy the best friend more than Amelia because she was funny and a straight shooter with what came out of her mouth. I have read other books from this author that were good but this particular book just wasn’t as gripping as I thought it would be.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this. This book had a good premise, but was slow. I didn't really like the characters at all. There was a surprise at the end, but I didn't really believe it.

I read the book, The Scorned Wife, by Theo Baxter, and OH MY GOSH!! This book has more twists and turns than Route 66!!
There were several times when I thought I knew what was going on, only to realize that I was wrong.
Honestly, if you want a book that you’re going to stay up late to read, a book you’ll open every free second you have, and book that will keep you focused on the next page?
This book is it! Go grab a copy!

Not a likeable character in the nook. Plot is over the top and unrealistic. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

I felt that the first part of the book was a slow burn, but the last part picked up, and ended up being really good. I have read a couple of other books by this author, and I did enjoy those a little more than this book, but I still thought this one was interesting.