What the Wife Knew
by Darby Kane
Pub Date: Dec 10 2024

What the Wife Knew is about two main characters, Dr. Richmond Dougherty, who passed away after only being married for 97 days and his wife Addison. This story is a smart, riveting page-turner, filled with lies, scheming, and many twists and turns you never see coming. Every character in this book harbors big secrets and hidden agendas, and nobody can be trusted. This story covers blackmail, domestic violence, anaphylaxis, gun violence and infidelity, something you may need to know before you start reading this book. This is a very suspenseful domestic thriller!

Many thanks to #WhattheWifeKnew #NetGalley and #WilliamMorrow for providing me with an E-ARC of this book.

Fast paced domestic thriller. Addison is on a mission, marry Dr Richmond Dougherty and destroy him. Even though Richmond is an esteemed surgeon and survivor of a terrible tragedy, Addison is determined to bring him down. Richmond has achieved hero status in the community, he has many secrets and is not the man most people think him to be. Dark and impossible to put down.

Esteemed surgeon Richmond Dougherty dies after he falls down the steps. Was it an accident? Or did his new wife, Addison push him? We find early on that Addison has a reason behind marrying Richmond, but spend the rest of the book trying to figure out what that reason is.

Overall this was an average read for me. I do like Darby Kane’s writing. It is engaging and suspenseful and makes you want to keep reading. However, this particular story kind of dips off in the middle and you just want to get to the part where we figure out why what is happening is happening. I actually struggled a bit to get through the ending.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and William Morrow, for the Advanced Readers copy that I very much enjoyed.

very interesting story. who did kill the man? basically everyone had reason to, but who did? it's not that shocking but fun. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

This was a great book. It had a lot of twists and turns and kept you guessing about what was happening next. It releases on December 10, 2024, so preorder it if you haven't already!

We meet Addison who is married to Richmond Dougherty. They do not have a happy marriage and are only a couple of months in. Richmond is found dead at the bottom of the stairs and it spurs a murder investigation. Addison is the center of the investigation as everyone knew that the marriage was not happy. She has blackmail against Richmond also, which does not make the case anymore innocent.

Through all the twists and turns, we uncover the truth behind all the characters. It makes us think about how you can trust anyone and what are we all hiding?

I hadn't read anything by this author before and she did not disappoint. Go ahead and preorder as this got five stars from me and you'll enjoy it too!

#WhattheWifeKnew #NetGalley

I had a great time reading this book! I think it’s the first one I’ve picked up by Darby Kane, and I was really impressed. The writing was top-notch, and the plot was engaging from start to finish. I’d definitely recommend it to a friend and plan to bring it up in our book club once it’s available.

Big thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow Publishing for the early copy in return for my honest thoughts!

This book was so good! It has lots of twists and turns and I couldnt put it down because I needed to know what happened. The ending was very good and wrapped up nice and neat.

I did not care for this at all. The beginning had me gripped but as time went on, it just became sillier and sillier. The story felt juvenile and the characters were all unlikable. The ending was predictable and had me majorly rolling my eyes. I don't think this author is for me.

Darby Kane has done it again with another gripping, intense, and twisty novel that leaves you questioning your own sanity until the final page.

What the Wife Knew is a domestic thriller that seems utterly straightforward - a successful and rich doctor divorces his long term wife, marries a new and younger model, and then mysteriously dies. The new wife is CLEARLY guilty…right? Well, that’s what everyone including the police in town think. But as their investigation unfolds, there isn’t a single character you will meet in this novel that is devoid of secrets, lies, and devious behavior that will make you question if your conclusions about who did what are even correct.

I absolutely love when a thriller leaves me muttering “what the hell” to myself as I read, and this one surely took the cake on thrillers in 2024 for that. You almost come into the story blind because there is so much backstory you just don’t know until you know - and sometimes the reveal happens in a one line throwaway sentence you won’t even connect until four chapters and plot twists later. The last 30% of this book flew by for me, I couldn’t put it down I just had to stay up late and finish. I can’t recall a book that I’ve read lately that uses time jumps, POVs, and such deceit to tell a story like this, so it was an incredibly fun read. If you’ve read Darby Kane you already know what you’re getting into, but if you’re a thriller lover new to her or someone looking to dip their toe into the twisty side of domestic thrillers, this one is definitely for you.

I want to thank the author and NetGalley for allowing me to read this story! This book was an amazing thriller with so many twists and turns.

This book follows Addison and her new husband Richmond who was found dead and she’s the prime suspect. The towns been against her from the beginning. The recent ex wife is trying to throw her out and take all of her money. Her mother is up to her usual tricks of manipulating her. The detectives are questioning and everyone keeps showing up to her house.

So many things unravel and in the best way, this was my first book by this author and I can’t wait for my next!

❀𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗪❀
𝔡𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔠 𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔯
🗓️𝙿𝚞𝚋 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎: 𝙳𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟶, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺(𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚝🥳)
🤩𝕄𝕪 𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: 𝟜.𝟝 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤! ★★★★✮

🤏𝚃𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚋𝚒𝚝...Addison marries for revenge & plans to kill her husband, but someone beats her to it & of course all the fingers are pointed at her…

🌻𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚊𝚢...I know I say it all the time on going in blind, but if you haven’t read the full synopsis yet..then don’t! That above 👆is all you need to know! 🤏Darby Kane books are best to go in knowing nothing & this one was twistier than I could’ve ever hoped due to being so “clueless” on what I knew & expected. My friends over @thrillerbookloversthepulse have been raving about this one for over a month & I am so glad life has slowed a bit to read it! I think this is my fav of @hkdimon yet. Maybe tied with Pretty Little Wife 🤔💜. The twists🌀, the crazy characters🙃, the revenge plot🔪 & the little sarcasm & snark😆 were my fav parts! Enjoy! 💜🩵🩷

🌻Thanks to @williammorrowbooks @netgalley for my advanced copy!

This was fine. I finished it because I had to know what the hell was going on, which is exactly what you want from this type of book. But somehow it also never really hooked me. I understand that doesn’t make a ton of sense, but here we are.

I get why Kane is a popular thriller writer - her prose style, the way she constructs dialogue, and how she sets up chapters is textbook. It was also definitely a WILD story. But there was something missing for me. Also there were almost too many twists towards the end, so it felt a bit soap opera-esque.

I didn’t hate it but it didn’t wow me. However, if you’re in the market for an absolutely bonkers thriller, this would definitely hit the spot!

Thank you to William Morrow and Netgalley for this ARC. What the Wife Knew is out 12/10

3.5 stars

I enjoyed Kane’s debut a few years ago but everything since has been either underwhelming or a DNF so I thought I was done with this author until I kept seeing consistently good reviews for this one. It’s a fun book to go into blind, it’s a bingeable domestic thriller with interesting characters to follow and a storyline that’s actually pretty unique. I do feel like it could’ve been tightened up a bit towards the end and there are too many ‘gotcha!’ type of reveals for my taste but overall a good time and definitely my favorite from Kane since Pretty Little Wife.

My first Darby Kane novel, and certainly won’t be my last. If you enjoy psychological thrillers, this is a good pick for you. Peppered with dysfunction, revenge, and twists at every turn, this book will keep you guessing and flipping pages! No spoilers from me… other than it’s a fun read. My utmost appreciation to the author and publisher for providing an advance copy for my reading pleasure!!

This is about a wife trying to find out who killed her husband twice before succeeding. Dr. Richmond Dougherty is dead, he fell down the stairs. His wife Addison might get the blame for this. Could it be the first wife, Kathryn? This story becomes a "war of the roses."

Addison and Richmond are not a good match. Why are they together? He has it all, the mansion, the career, the perfect family. He throws this away for the younger, hotter wife. From Kathryn to Addison. Who is the killer?

This book is twisty and shocking. It will grab the reader from the beginning! This is family drama at it's best!

Twists and Turns, A Slow Burn, and Whodunnit Mystery!

3.5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy! This book will be released 12/10/24.

I just couldn't get into this one! It started out feeling sooo far fetched that I had a hard time finding the story believable enough to feel engaged with.

What a wild ride and nothing that I was expected. Kane came in hot and did not stop the story. I loved the plot and the characters though not fully developed-- did they need to been?

A psychological thriller with multiple twists and turns that will leave you guessing up until the end. Everyone in this story has secrets and lies, making for an interesting web of deceit.

Thank you @williammorrowbooks & @netgalley for my complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

DR. RICHARD DOUGHERTY, a highly successful and affluent surgeon, is hailed as a hero. Twenty-seven years ago, he survived the tragic murders of his family and heroically thwarted a mass shooting by taking down the assailant, which solidified his status in the community.

Now married to his second wife, ADDISON, their relationship is far from a fairytale. Addison's motivations for marrying the much older surgeon are not based on love; she harbors her own ambitions.

Complicating matters is the constant presence of Richmond’s first wife, KATHRYN, full of anger towards Addison. Yet, Kathryn carries her own share of secrets that could change everything.

The narrative unfolds through alternating timelines and perspectives, showcasing “His” and “Hers.” Addison's character is initially portrayed with a snarky edge, but her humor and depth gradually emerge, making her more relatable as the story progresses. In my opinion the beginning is a little slow and somewhat confusing. The tensions builds by the halfway mark, and the final third of the book is a whirlwind of unexpected twists and turns guaranteed to keep readers guessing. For those who enjoy domestic thrillers, this book comes highly recommended by my friends @thrillerbookloversthepulse.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a great whodunit with so many possible suspects. I liked seeing the different timelines, and how the story comes together!