Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC audiobook. Unfortunately, this did not work for me. The beginning (and middle, really) dragged. The characters and their choices were infuriating. Why are you holding onto a 12 million pound winning lottery ticket in order to spy on your husband because he might be cheating on you? Why do you keep buying things you can’t afford when the ticket is still in a jar? Cash in the damn ticket and confront your husband. This shouldn’t take 30-40% of the book. This did not get better to me even after the ticket was cashed and they move into their new home, get new cars, etc. Things started to feel “weird” but nothing was thrilling, and the twists at the end couldn’t make it up for me. As far as the audiobook production, Imogen Church was wonderful. Her voice acting definitely helped elevate this story, although sometimes the volume felt unbalanced (sometimes too loud suddenly during dialogue).

Title: The Wife’s Mistake:
Author: Lorna Dounaeva
Narrator: Imogene Church
Publisher: Bookouture Audio
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: February 19. 2024
My Rating: 2.3 Stars
Pages: 364

Natalie and Hayden are an average couple until they aren’t.
Natalie buys a lottery ticket after a bad day as a barista and wins.
Natalie, of course, is excited and wants to tell her husband. As she is waiting for him to get out of the shower she notices a text on his phone from another woman. Hmmm

She doesn’t confront him just yet as she wants to be sure.
In the meantime, they take the money and are living the life. However, strange things are happening. Is there another woman and might Natalie’s past catch up with her?

Story starts out slow but does pick up. .

I love a good audiobook but am one of the few who finds Imogene Church’s performance over dramatic and in this case actually took away from the story. I know most listeners love her.

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this early audiobook. eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for February 19,, 2024.

The windows of an expensive glass house are shattered and there’s a cherry red Ferrari in the pool with a body inside. To find out how things got to this point, the story takes us back in time to the day Natalie buys a lottery ticket on a whim after a bad day at her barista job. To her utter shock, her ticket is a winner. Mistrust, old indiscretions and fame all contribute to their life unraveling. It was a slow burn for about the first two-thirds of the book, but then it started to really pick up. The last part of the book was definitely more interesting, and had some good twists and turns. This book shows the dark side of family. Jealousy, bitterness and resentment and it’s result. .

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review of this book.

I’m a bit torn on my feeling for this book. I didn’t enjoy the narrator, at all, and I think that was the problem.