What the Wife Knew is another hit by Darby Kane. Just like her other books you will not be disappointed with this book. Addison is the new Mrs. Dougherty and her husband Dr. Richmond Dougherty has recently died leaving her the sole benefactor of his estate. Kathryn, who was the first Mrs. Doughery is not happy about this. Now Kathryn want Addison to sign everything back over to her and she will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Addison is hiding secrets of her own and that includes the real reason for why she blackmailed Richmond to divorce Kathyrn and marry her. The more Addison digs into Richmond's affairs the more she is uncovering of all his undoings. Now someone wants Addison gone permently and will stop at nothing to either kill her or frame her for Richmond's death. I would like to thank both NetGalley and William Morrow for letting me read an advanced copy of this book.

What a roller coaster ride! The characters had a great deal of depth and the author did a great job of showing how they adapted to changes in their circumstances that caused a shift in what they believed.

It would have been easy to totally dislike the main character, Allison from the very beginning and yet I had a sense that there was more at play then her seemingly nasty personality. I loved how the author twisted things around and yet it all made sense.

Great book!

I received an ARC ebook from NetGalley HarperCollins Publishers for "What the Wife Knew" by Darby Kane. Thank you Publishers and NetGalley!
This was my first book by Kane, and it did not disappoint. As a fan of thrillers, I was engaged from the start. The crazy, twisted story had me intrigued, especially with Addison's character, though I didn't trust anyone. The dual timelines were easy to follow, but the middle section was slightly complex due to unnecessary characters, making it feel a bit long. It picked up around the 75% mark. Overall, it's a great domestic thriller about Addison, a young widow whose husband dies shortly after marriage, making her the prime suspect. However, many others had reasons to want him dead.

Darby Kane’s writing is strong. From the first page, you are immersed in the world and the situation of this “grieving” family. However, pretty much all the characters suck, and I’m a fan of likable characters (or at least redeemable characters that show growth).

I found this book to be both surprising and somewhat suspenseful. We already know who the "bad" guys are at the start of the book, but are allowed to have flashbacks and additional information that gives you the WHY. What happens when the truth you thought you knew turns out to be a lie, and you would do anything to keep your own past buried.

A daughter groomed for revenge and a villian who thinks he is invincible cross paths. It is not long before the "wife" is suspected of murder and has to figure out who the killer is before suspicion sticks to her.

It is easy to have no sympathy for the victim, but to be interested in how he came to be in circumstances that ended his life. In the background there is the story of someone learning to trust and connect, and how to deal with someone whom you should love but you actually despise, while at the same time wanting to be close.

Addison has no idea who she can trust as she tries to navigate exposing the past, without totally blowing up every life impacted in the present.

I really enjoyed this one! There is enough mis drection to keep you guessing and finding things along the way will make you constantly changes your opinions.
I appreciate the opportunity from Net Galley and the publisher to discover a new author

This one felt about 50-75 pages too long.. it hooked me at the beginning but around the middle got a bit convoluted and didn’t pick up again until the 80% mark. Good story, but trimming some of it down would have made it great

This is my first Darby Kane book and it’s not going to be my last because I really enjoyed this one.

A few things I liked about this book:
-the book alternated between the past and the present so you really got a good idea of who the characters were
-the characters were all flawed which made them seem more real to me
-I never really knew where the book was going just when I thought I had it figured out, I realized I didn’t
-the author did a really good job of creating characters that were interesting regardless of whether you like them or not

A few things I didn’t like:
-at times it did feel like there were a lot of storylines going on at one time. some of them probably could’ve been left out and it wouldn’t have affected the integrity of the book
-although I like when characters are flawed, there were so many characters in this book that were truly vile. I don’t know what the limit should be, but there were definitely a lot of them and I didn’t enjoy that as much
With all that being said it’s a really great book and I highly recommend it and can’t wait to read more from her.
Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

There were some crazy twists and turns in the final 10% but my reason for only 4 stars is the actual killer was really the only obvious choice. The red herrings weren’t suspicious enough for me.

Everyone who knew him wanted him dead. Who did it? The wife? The ex? The business partner? A great "who-dunnit" that will thrill readers!

Dr. Dougherty was a pillar of the community and social circle. He was also a survivor of a shooting and a hero that saved many. His first wife and children benefited greatly from his success and when he ended up divorcing her and marrying someone much younger, things got tricky Married just a few months until he took a fatal tumble down the stairs and the police believe it had to be foul play. Addison, the second wife, now has the house and the money but is also a suspect. This is a twisty story that kept my interest. I enjoyed the multiple POV but I absolutely loved Addison from the start. She was a character I cheered for even though her motives for marrying the good doctor were sinister. I enjoyed this book and thought it was well written and kept my interest.

We have a dead husband, an ex wife, the new 20 something year old he divorced her for and millions at dollars of stake. The new wife, Addison, is the obvious suspect in everybody's eyes and to their credit she did want her husband dead, but not for his money like they all think. Now she must figure out who beat her to the act before she goes away for his murder.

What the Wife knew is a fun murder mystery with twists and turns that keep you hooked. The timeline jumps give us insights so that we can start putting the pieces of the puzzle together and just when you think you have everything figured out Darby throws another curveball at you. I thought the twists were well executed, they made sense to the plot and did not feel completely out of left field.

I want to thank NetGalley and the Publisher for the advanced digital copy. Do I recommend this book. Yes, if you enjoy thrillers with suspense around every turn then you should read this book because you are in for a good time.

I was excited to get the advanced copy of What the Wife Knew - as I really loved Pretty Little Wife. Again, this in one of my very favorite genres, Domestic Thriller/Suspense, and I really enjoyed this one. Addison is a young widow who's husband, Richmond, dies within a few months of their marriage - which really wasn't much of a marriage at all. She isn't particularly sad about his death; and of course becomes the prime suspect, only to find out there were plenty of others that wouldn't mind seeing him dead.

There were some dull filler parts in the middle, some unnecessary characters, but all in all it kept me wanting to know what happened next. I loved the main character Addison, and hated Richmond's first ex-wife. I became invested and enjoyed the ride. Thank you to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for the Arc.

Wow, wow this book is crazy! The last 1/4 of the book I could not stop reading, I had to know what was going to happen. All I can say is be ready for one crazy twisted ride, oh, and hold on because it will send you for a loop.
Darby Kane is a new author to me, and I will be reading her previous book soon "Pretty Little Wife".
I first was interested in Addison she was aloof and hard to read but I still found her intriguing. Then as the story unfolded I got a little glimpse into why she was like she was. But Richmond Dougherty I despised from the start and never changed my view of him for the better. Many of the other characters I didn't know at the start well but came to trust or even like. This book is very well written and so easy to read and as I said before hard to sit down at the end.
Huge thank you to NetGalley, Darby Kane, and William Marrow for the ARC.

In Darby Kane’s newest novel, What the Wife Knew — just like in her previous novel Pretty Little Wife — Kane gives us a cold female protagonist and a husband with extremely dark secrets. The author plays with making the female protagonist unlikable, refusing to explain herself or ally with any of the people around her.

Rich doctor Richmond Dougherty, has abruptly ditched his high school sweetheart wife for the young, beautiful Addison, and then died by misadventure about 3 months into their marriage. Of course, Addison is immediately under suspicion. The flaw in the obvious evil-golddigger narrative is that Addison has barely touched the money she’s inherited. And although she doesn’t want the first Mrs. Dougherty to get a penny more than the initial divorce settlement, Addison’s been pretty quick to pay tuition for Richmond’s children.

Just like in Pretty Little Wife, there are a few references to the wife’s dark past and hints that she could say way more if she felt like it. But Addison doesn’t feel like it, responding with sarcastic quips whenever anyone wants to know about her new husband, his series of accidents before this accidental death, why she keeps a bat next to her (separate) bed, or where that bat could have gone.

I actually didn’t find Addison unlikable, it seemed more like marrying Richard was her terrible minimum-wage job and she was just trying to get through it as fast as possible. Lila, in Pretty Little Wife, has an annoying streak, which helped her seem unpleasant and suspicious to me, not just to the other characters in the book. But Addison just seemed like she wanted to go home.

Richmond, the husband, is well-known and well-loved. He was a teenage hero and is now a popular and successful pediatric surgeon. Even if we thriller readers know Darby Kane is setting it all up drop a huge reveal on us, he seems like a real hometown hero. Ok, look, I don’t want to spoil the reveal, but a few times, I saw part of Richmond’s hidden secrets could be, and then it went even darker than I could have guessed.

I can’t really discuss What The Wife Knew in a lot of detail without revealing more of the plot, and this is the kind of book where you really don’t want spoilers, the kind where you want to put the clues together for yourself. Psychological thrillers work well when they build suspense and tension, which — for me — has to hinge on curiosity and caring about the characters. Addison’s not instantly likable, but the curiosity about her strange “marriage” and all of Richmond’s “accidents” pulled me in. Besides, I kind of knew the author would play with a heroine that’s not particularly relatable. This pulled me into the unpredictable plot.

Complex characters like these can power good psychological thrillers, too. Here, we had a lot of complicated relationships, particularly between mothers and their children, almost like in a family saga. Unraveling characters’ motivations and backstories always adds to a thriller, and once again, Kane gives us readers clear hints to let us predict and see some of it coming… and then the book went way darker than I could have guessed.

Overall, this is a twisty, dark thriller without gore. It’s still a murder mystery, so there’s some blood, but the main focus is on the twisted motivations and on the layers of lies covering lies in this book.

Great read. I really am enjoying this author. This booked sucked you right in from the start and kept you going and guessing throughout the book. Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy of this book. I will be reviewing for friends and family.

This is my new favorite thriller from Darby Kane! It's a dark, twisty book of what happens behind closed doors... and who doesn't love a little revenge, too?

Dr. Richmond Dougherty is a famous surgeon, loved by all--he saves kids after all!--but now he's also dead, due to a tragic fall down the stairs. Addison, the main character, and his NEW wife, inherits everything. The book starts right after his death, and we learn she purposefully wormed her way into his life for her own means... but did she kill him?

What the Wife Knew is a very good domestic drama/psychological suspense thriller. OMG, what a wonderful read! So much dysfunction, so many complex machinations on all sides, so many twists and turns. A taut, clever story with good pacing full of secrets and surprises. This was an enjoyable escape from start to finish.

I can't wait to read more from this author!

My thanks to William Morrow for allowing me to read a DRC of this novel via NetGalley. Publication is 12/10/24. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

This book is written in 2 viewpoints and switches timelines, but still manages to be easy to follow. The story comes together more and more as you read with plenty of twists. I would definitely recommend this book.

This was for sure a who did it kind of book!! It kept me guessing the whole time!
I knew the ex wife was up to something but also couldn’t figure out exactly what revenge Addison was trying to get. Just when I thought I would have things figured out it would have be all tripped up again! A great quick thriller!!
Thank you NetGalley for the arc!!

Deliciously twisted and so well written! Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!

When first starting this book, I wasn't sure from whose POV the story would be told—the long-time first wife of Richmond Dougherty, mother of his two children and high-school sweetheart, or the second wife who he married less than 100 days before his death. Turns out it's a dual POV but not from both wives. No this story is told primarily from the POV of Addison Dougherty—the second wife—the one who is only upset that Richmond is dead because she isn't the one who got to kill him. And sprinkled in is the a few chapters from the husband himself, the infamous Richmond—husband, father, renowned surgeon, survivor, and overall hero.

I could not put this book down! The short chapters—and the seemingly cliffhanger endings to each one—kept me turning the page until I hit the Acknowledgements but still I want more! Will definitely be reading more by Darby Kane.