I really wanted to love this book. It started out strong, but fizzled quickly.
I felt the story was choppy and jumped around a lot. I just struggled to get into it and was happy to be done with it.
Overall, the story was good. But the execution did not work for me.
Thank you

Thank you to @thrillerbookloversthepulse, @williammorrowbooks for the #gifted copy of the book.

I love a good domestic thriller and this one fit the bill. Addison sets her sights on Dr. Richmond Dougherty, She is determined for the world to see him for who he really is and that isn't the renouned pediatric surgeon. He is a liar and a murderer. Addison plans to take everything from him and watch his fall from grace. Unfortunately, after they are married he is murdered before she can see the full fruits of her labor so she has to do things a bit differently. Someone is targeting her. Will the truth come out? Who can Addison trust? Her mom? Her deceased husbands attorney Elias? Don't miss this one!!

Check out what everyone @thrillerbookloversthepulse is raving about! This book is fire! #pulsepoint #thepulse

💭 Dysfunction at its finest! I’ve now read several of Ms. Kane’s books and she delivers a twisty, addicting, unputdownable book each time! This of course was no exception! In fact, I think this one is my favorite by her to date! Two women, lots of lies, conniving behavior, and evilness at its core is what made this book impossible to set aside. This book is simply insane with the level of deception rooted in these characters! It’s the type of characters you just love to hate! I just love an ultimate revenge plot and this one was delivered dripping in madness! Make sure to check this one out later this year when it’s published in December.

I almost gave up at 40% but decided to push through…it just wasn’t my favorite type of thriller. None of the characters were really likable and it made me suspicious of everyone, even ones who were innocent in the whole thing.
Addison married the man she hates…the man she was actually groomed to destroy. When he turns up dead, she needs to find out who actually killed him to clear her name. Overall a decent thriller, but again, just not my type. Plenty of twists towards the end that will keep you guessing!

I received an advanced copy from netgalley in exchange for a review and opinions are my own.

I loved Darby Kane's previous book, Pretty Little Wife, which had a similar premise—a woman who fully intended to kill her husband, but things went awry, and now she's being blamed for the murder. I was a little worried this book would feel like a rehash of that one, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Although the book opens with a cat-and-mouse game between the main character and her (now deceased) husband, the story was much more about family, and parents and children. Addison, the main character, keeps her motivations quiet for most of the book, and in parallel we unravel the mystery of why she married Richmond, and what happened to him. Richmond's ex-wife and her children, and some figures from Addison's past, play a large part in the mystery. I found the ending really satisfying, and the twists unpredictable.

3 stars- This was a fun read! While the twists weren’t overly surprising, the sarcasm and style of writing were fun and engaging. I really enjoyed this read and found it highly entertaining!

Book: What The Wife Knew
Author: Darby Kane
Publisher: William Morrow
Pub Date: December 10, 2024

Darby Kane is one of those authors I don’t love but can’t stop reading. And despite the low reviews I continue to give her books I still continue to read them. I feel like Mrs. Kane’s books always start off with a really great hook. It gets you feeling good about the book and then bam just falls off midway. The story was very repetitive and it felt like the same thing over and over to fill the space with no real meat to the story. I lost interest half way through and it didn’t help that the ending was predictable. I love a good revenge book but this one felt silly at times and I didn’t enjoy any of the characters. Nevertheless I will be here for the next Darby Kane book.

Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is December 10, 2024.

I have read all but one of Darby Kane’s books, so I was extremely excited that I got an ARC copy. It had great potential to be a five star for me fell a little flat. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my e-ARC of What the Wife Knew!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
👰🏼 would marry for revenge
👀 love multiple POVs and timelines
🌪️ like twist after twist after twist
♥️ want a character you can empathize with

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

Dr. Richmond Dougherty is a renowned pediatric surgeon, an infamous tragedy survivor, and a national hero. He’s also very dead—thanks to a fall down the stairs. His neighbors angrily point a finger at the newest Ms. Dougherty, Addison. The sudden marriage to the mysterious young woman only lasted ninety-seven days, and he’d had two suspicious “accidents” during that time. Now Addison is a very rich widow.

As law enforcement starts to circle in on Addison and people in town become increasingly hostile, sides are chosen with Kathryn, Richmond’s high school sweetheart, wife number one, and the mother of his children, leading the fray. Despite rising tensions, Addison is even more driven to forge ahead on the path she charted years ago…

Determined at all costs to unravel Richmond’s legacy, she soon becomes a target—with a shocking note left on her bedroom wall: You will pay. But it will take a lot more than faceless threats to stop Addison. Her plan to marry Richmond then ruin him may have been derailed by his unexpected death, but she’s not done with him yet.

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

This was a really fun thriller with a lot of twists at the end that just kept coming! I wasn’t sure what to believe by the end because Addison’s mother has proven to be a liar again and again. I really felt for Addison’s character. She had clearly been through a lot and then had to deal with a husband that was downright psychopathic and calculating. When the chapters started to show his POV, I actually wondered if maybe he could be innocent after all. I loved the back and forth of not knowing who to trust!

This book mildly hooked me in the beginning. But about half way through, I lost interest. I couldn’t connect with any of the minor characters. I lost interest in the twists and ultimately, it fell flat. Which is wild because
I can see where the story could have had potential, but it got a little unnecessarily convoluted. 3 stars

Thank you to NetGalley And William Morris for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I started this book last night and finished it this afternoon. I was almost immediately hooked and was up way too late last night reading! Have you ever read a book that you were so into that you were glad to be sick and have an excuse to just stay home and read? That’s how I felt today (cough cough). The hits just kept coming in this drama filled story of revenge and I was absolutely here for it! I loved Addison’s sarcastic attitude and her cutthroat way of dealing with everyone and everything, but I also loved it when her soft spots would show through.

Well written book with lots of twists! What happens when someone blackmails someone into marrying them? What did they do? What does she know? I don’t want to ruin this with any spoilers. Very twisty with lots of good sub plots with the ex wife, the children, and the co workers. It will having you guessing until the end. I really enjoyed this book!

✨ 𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 ✨

What the Wife Knew
Darby Kane
Release Date: December 10, 2024

Special thank you to @thrillerbookloversthepulse and @netgalley for my the opportunity to read and review this book!

This is my first Darby Kane novel and it will not be my last. This is one twisted psychological thriller you won’t want to miss out on.

Richmond Dougherty is a pediatric surgeon and a local hero. One day he turns up dead at his home and the number one suspect is his new wife, Addison. It’s her priority to clear her name but it’s hard to do when she herself is receiving death threats.

Addison’s character was written perfectly. She has a strong personality that she had to develop over her hard upbringing. The mothers in this book are unlike any I have read before.

This story is told in a dual POV with jumps from past to present. The time jumps made the story all the more interesting to me. Each chapter ended in such a way that I didn’t want to put the book down.

There’s a lot to unpack about this book. 😅

There were a lot of things to like about this book. It was fast paced, twisty, and didn’t really drag at any point. I was entertained and I really enjoyed the main character even if she was not the most pleasant person in the world. I thought her inner monologue was so funny and I just enjoyed her attitude.

That being said, there were too many subplots in my opinion. I didn’t find anything about the plot to be difficult to follow, it just got mucked up. There were so many side characters and things that didn’t end up being relevant to the main plot at all. I understand a complex plot to throw a reader off and keep them guessing, but it gets to be laborious trying to wade through all of the moving parts to get to what’s actually important.

And I love a plot twist. I even love multiple plot twists. But there were TOO MANY plot twists at the very end of this book. 😵‍💫 It was just too theatrical and ridiculous which was disappointing since the first 90% of this book was so good.

Overall, I liked this book. I’d recommend to popcorn thriller fans that love wild plot twists.

Thank you to Netgalley, William Morrow, and Thriller Book Lovers The Pulse for the opportunity to read this advance copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
There were so many twists in this book that the ending became disappointing by taking the twist too far.
With that said, Darby Kane is an excellent writer. I liked the book all the way up until the last few chapters.
Addison is a very strong main character, her whole life had been shaped by revenge. Richmond, her late husband, was a manipulative man that had created a successful life. Addison is determined to destroy his legacy.

If you love a twisted suspense thriller with buried secrets, shocking truths, revenge and mysterious characters, this is for you.

I love twisted and completely messed up thrillers. In this book, the secrets and truth were more twisted and shocking than one could think. The twists were jaw dropping. That ending was so messy and shocking. This has been narrated in present and past timeline with alternating perspectives. The suspense stayed till the end.

Richmond Dougherty is a pediatric surgeon. He had suspicious accidents and his second marriage only lasted for ninety-seven days and the unfortunate news of his sudden death shocks everyone. While it all feels suspicious. The investigation is going on. Addison becomes the suspect. People disapproved of her because she is young. Truth is twisted, shocking and the kind of that you could not even imagine. The secrets, mystery, suspense and plot twists kept me on the edge. This is a good whodunnit mystery with a revenge plot.

Many Thanks to the publisher for giving me access to the Early ARC. Thanks to the Author and Netgalley. The Author never disappoints.
Absolutely loved the book.

What the Wife Knew was full of twists and turns with an ending I never expected. It was an excellent read where the main character Addison learned her worth. I also thought it was great by she was not only losing something she thought was important she was also gaining something that was actually important. It is an incredible book and I recommend to anyone who likes a good suspenseful book.

This book is wild! I really like a good revenge plot, and this did not disappoint. I’m not the biggest fan of unlikeable characters, so that did detract a bit for me. There were somethings I saw coming, and a few I didn’t. Would recommend.

This is not my first Darby Kane read as I read "Pretty little wife" first. so seeing this I was thrilled to pick it up. The tempo of the story keeps up pace and you can tell there are some suspicious characters right away. there were many WTF moments especially at the end - which the last couple characters were a bit much but alas that's what we want with a thriller. The last twist about Addison's father, I feel like it wasn't needed.

There were some parts where it was confusing just because there was so much going on- such as some motives with some of the minor characters and storylines. I was confused about the murderer's motives and what exactly happened, as well as Lizzy's motives and why she was so fixated on the past.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review

This book grabbed me from the first chapter and I absolutely had to know what happened! If you love domestic thrillers, What the Wife Knew will be a five star read for you, without a doubt. So many twists I got a little dizzy!