What the wife knew is a twisty thriller that keeps you guessing, with reveals right up until the end. We meet Addison, the young widow of a distinguished doctor, Richmond, who had an accident on the stairs. Addison has no friends and is hated by the town as she is perceived as a gold digger/con artist as Richmond left his first wife/high school sweetheart for this younger love. Richmond is a wealthy and prominent pediatric surgeon who was also a hero that thwarted a school shooter during his senior year of high school.

We quickly learn that looks can be deceiving as Addison reluctantly married Richmond for reasons that are revealed throughout the book. When Richmond's death is ruled a homicide, Addison knows she is innocent and has to figure out who else wanted her husband dead.

I loved Addison's character, she is smart and compassionate, and a survivor who is not as calculating as others would believe. The story progresses through the investigation but also adds some flashback chapters to fill in the blanks and POV changes to give us a glimpse of Richmond. As the murder suspects start to add up, Addison makes some unexpected alliances as she gets closer to the killer and their motives.

I definitely recommend this book to others. Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advance copy.

When Dr Richmond Dougherty turns up dead the list of suspects is long. Disgruntled patients, ex-wife, the young new wife. This is a great thriller that had me guessing til the end. Did not expect the ending! Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Well, the ending of this book had me laughing with the lies and how manipulative most of the characters are!

I was hooked right from the beginning with the dark secrets, blackmailing, threats, and the investigation.
Even though the pace turned slow in the middle part of the story, things got a lot more interesting once the secrets started unraveling one by one.

The last few chapters were quite intense as all the truths finally came to light with the secrets Addison, Kathryn, and Richmond had been hiding throughout the story. Some twists I could guess, but a few managed to surprise me near the ending!

Overall, it was an entertaining read with an easy-to-read writing style, short chapters, and unexpected twists. Putting my Kindle down was the last thing I wanted to do. I’m looking forward to reading more books from this author in the future!

⚠️TW: Violence and brief mention of school shooting and death

I enjoyed reading Darby Kane’s “The Engagement Party” last winter, so I was really looking forward to this book, but it was just okay for me. It started off really strong, and I devoured the first half. The plot was intriguing and unique, and I couldn’t wait to find out who really killed Richmond and what secrets Addison knew. Up until the halfway point, the story was told from “Her” (the wife’s) point of view in alternating timelines. Around the 50% mark, it changed to dual POV with chapters from the husband’s perspective, and I think that’s where the story lost its appeal to me. There were suddenly too many huge twists and fakeouts with details that kept changing. I will say that I did love Addison as our female main character. She had a lot of sass and spunk, and it was enjoyable to read from her POV. Overall, a pretty quick and easy read. I think many readers will love the family drama and shocking twists.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for my ARC copy of What The Wife Knew. A suspenseful who-dun-it, thriller of a book! Who I thought was the killer ended up not being correct in the end! Highly recommend. Easy read.

What the Wife Knew by Darby Kane is another 5/5 thriller book! Addison Dougherty is just married when her husband falls down the stairs and dies. Everyone is pointing the finger at Addison- did she do it?

This was a pretty good mystery. The book started out very strong and captured my attention. It has short chapters which I liked. However, the last half was slower than the first and started to lose my attention. Also, super weird twist at the end that gives you the ick! 😂 Ready to move on to the next! Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Excellent mystery. I loved the premise and the surprises throughout. Great character building and plot development.

Thank you, NetGalley, William Morrow Paperbacks and Darby Kane for this ARC.

This book is 70 chapters long and even though for the most part, they were short chapters, it was still too long. The start of the book was interesting, but it started to drag for me towards the middle. It was difficult for me to get back into but I kept moving forward because I had to know how it would end. The ending was very interesting and disturbing. I am still processing what I read.

The characters were all unlikeable so I couldn't connect to any of them. I didn't like Addison from the first few pages, I did have hope that her character would develop more and become likable. There were parts of the book that showed that she did have some positive characteristics. Maybe there is hope for her after all.

Addison's husband Richmond is dead less than a year into their marriage, and she isn't sad about it, but she is bothered by the fact that she didn't get to ruin his life first. I loved the family drama with Richmond's ex-wife Kathryn and her two children Wyatt and Portia showing up to the house uninvited and all the accusations, mysterious activity, and threats. You can't help but get swept up in the story to discover who killed Richmond and why. Fans of domestic suspense/thrillers will enjoy this book.

4.5 stars for me.

Thank you to Darby Kane and William Morrow for the ARC!

I have eagerly read every book Darby Kane puts out, so I was very thrilled when we got this book at The Pulse! When I started reading it, I was absolutely hooked and couldn’t put it down. The beginning had me laughing at how dark the humor was - I was picturing Addison and her bat and found myself chuckling out loud. I was so intrigued to see why Addison decided to take down Richmond this way. It seemed so personal, but I couldn’t figure it out! The twists kept coming up until the very end - just when I thought the story was over, another twist got me. My heart went out to Addison and her stepchildren too - none of them asked for the situation they were thrown into. And in a lot of ways, their situations parallelled one another. Atmospheric and filled with her signature domestic suspense, this is easily my favorite Darby Kane book yet!

”What the Wife Knew” releases December 10, 2024 (I guess I can think of this book as an eagerly birthday present! LOL) This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "What the Wife Knew" by Darby Kane: A Twisty Domestic Thriller Full of Suspense!

Darby Kane has done it again! "What the Wife Knew" is an electrifying, edge-of-your-seat domestic thriller that kept me hooked from start to finish. The plot revolves around Addison, the young and mysterious new wife of Dr. Richmond Dougherty, a national hero who dies under suspicious circumstances. As the story unravels, we find out that Richmond’s death may have been inevitable—but not for the reasons everyone thinks!

What I loved most about this novel was its gripping twists and the constant feeling of unease. Kane expertly plays with the reader’s perception, making you question who you can trust. Is Addison the mastermind behind it all, or is there something even more sinister lurking beneath the surface? The way Kane teases out the secrets, both from Richmond’s past and Addison’s carefully hidden motives, kept me turning the pages late into the night.

The characters are richly developed, with Addison standing out as a fierce and complex protagonist who refuses to be the victim, even as she faces growing threats from all sides. Kathryn, Richmond's first wife, adds another layer of intrigue and tension, as she seems determined to see Addison pay for her husband's death. The small-town setting also heightens the sense of claustrophobia and rising hostility as the investigation unfolds.

What makes this book a standout for me is its dark humor and clever plotting. Addison’s unapologetic determination to forge ahead, even after Richmond’s death, adds a unique twist that sets this thriller apart. And just when you think you have it all figured out, Kane throws in another curveball!

If you’re a fan of domestic thrillers with strong, multi-layered characters and unexpected plot turns, "What the Wife Knew" is a must-read. It’s a wild ride full of suspense, secrets, and betrayal that will leave you guessing until the very last page!

Thank you NetGalley and Darby Kane for the ARC!
***All thoughts and opinions are mine and mine alone***

A twisty read about murder, secrets and lies and toxic family relationships, told in dual points of views and flashbacks to the past. I enjoyed the short chapters and the many twists and turns, including the final unsettling revelation near the end of the novel. There are several unlikeable characters and a plucky, damaged main character. This was a quick, easy to read popcorn thriller

Readers who like stories about murder and family dysfunction should check this one out.

Thanks to the publisher for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

This book had such potential to be 5 stars. It started out strong and immediately had me intrigued. I was thinking about all of these different outcomes and who the real murderer was. But when I got to about chapter 40 I was thinking dang, how much is left in this book? Which is never something you should be thinking about when you're only halfway through. This book has 70 chapters which is WAY too many. The author could have cut about 25 chapters and still gotten their point across. The ending didn’t feel as satisfying because by the time I got there I was just ready to be finished with this book. I also guessed the ending pretty early on so there was no shock factor for me. I do appreciate that the author tried to add in some additional twists but at a certain point it becomes too twisty and doesn’t make sense. Overall, this was a good book but the pacing goes from fast to slow and the writing can feel a bit repetitive. I would still highly recommend it.

Darby Kane is back! I have gleefully picked up a new book and look forward to her release dates and What the Wife Knew did NOT disappoint.

This story was fast paced, riveting and full of twists and turns. I thought I figured out the ending but was second guessing myself and almost broke out notecards and string to see if I could figure it out before the end!

What the Wife Knew comes out 12/10/24 and you won’t want to miss it! Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for honest feedback

3.25⭐️ I love past Darby Kanes and was so excited to receive the ARC for this one.
Pros: action packed from the start, a plot unlike any others I’ve read
Cons: Character development was just ok for me. I didn’t feel deep emotions toward anyone. I also felt like we were going for a huge shock factor, but instead details just kept changing and it wasn’t completely effective.


Thank you Net Galley and William Morrow for the advance reader copy.

Love a domestic thriller and throw in dual pov, wooo. A solid 3 stars. Just a fun and easy read, nothing shocking.

This book is nothing short of entertaining, though it did start a little rocky for me. In the beginning I considered DNFing it because it was very slow, and I was confused. However, I stuck it out and I am so glad I did because I ended up loving this book so much. This is one of my favorite thriller authors and I look forward to everything they write, and this book was no different! Ah this book ended up being so good! There was so much going on, it was a roller coaster ride of emotions and gripping scenes. This is how psychological thrillers should be written! They suck the reader in and get them invested, then BAM things take a wicked turn, and I adore them. The writing was captivating, and the author wove such a twisted tale, it was great. I loved the main character, even though she was not the most likeable at times. But I liked her because I felt her motives and desires were realistic and ones that I understood. I was so lost in the story my mind wasn’t even trying to figure the twists out, I was all in and invested in devouring this read so the author could tell me. I love it when a story does that to me.

If you are looking for a fast-paced revenge, psychological thriller, then you will not want to miss this one.

Some say revenge is a dish, best served hot. But honestly, I prefer methodical revenge that is planned with the long game in mind.

This book delivers a fantastic psychological thriller with revenge in mind. A hot new wife snags a wealthy famous surgeon and everyone has it out for her. The neighbors whisper about her, the stepchildren and ex wife despise her, but why is it that he's the one who ends up dead?

Great story with multiple POVs and flashes back between 2 different timelines. I did find a small lull in the middle of the book that made it drag but hang it there because the ending definitely makes up for it.

Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC of #WhatTheWifeKnew by Darby Kane. Add this one to your wishlist and keep your eyes peeled when it hits the shelves on December 10, 2024.

Another good read from Darby Kane! I was able to easily predict who actually killed Richmond but, I didn’t see all the other little surprises and twists coming.