I love this trope - young naive woman moves in with handsome man whose wife is presumed dead - it’s such a bonkers fantasy and so many disastrous things could happen! Love it

So, Anna is young and charmed by the wealthy Dr Cary who comes with a ready-made adorable toddler. Meanwhile, there’s a missing wife and a bunch of wealthy, gossiping neighbors!

The front cover didn’t feel as fun as the book actually was (is there even a red door?!)

I would have liked to get a bit more intimate with the neighbors. There were a lot of secrets being kept and it would have been nice to have more than Anna’s POV

Up until the end, the pace was steady with a constant state of “what’s really going on” but when we finally got to the end, I got whiplash with all the reveals. I wanted justice but don’t feel everyone that should have got it, did

I enjoyed the audiobook and narrators, and would definitely recommend listening or reading this authors first standalone thriller

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for access to this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review

I don't know how to feel about this one. I definitely didn't see the twists coming, but that's because it all seemed insanely implausible. I can suspend disbelief for a good thriller, but this really seemed far fetched and there were a ton of plot holes.
The narrator did a great job!
Thank you netgalley for the alc

🎧 audiobook review: His Last Wife - Ruhi Choudhary
🗓️ expected release date: April 25, 2024
📈 overall rating: 3.5 out of 5
🫢 twist gasp level: 2.5 out of 5
⤵️ review: be aware of spoiler alert!
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If you’re a fan of fast-paced domestic thrillers with twists and unreliable narrators, add this to your tbr list. I would describe this as Gone Girl meets A Simple Favor meets The Wife Upstairs (minus the non-verbal wife, but there is a diary!)

I found the beginning of this book to be a little rocky. Once I got through a few chapters, I was invested in the story and trying to solve the mysteries surrounding multiple characters. As with most books in the thriller genre, there are plot holes and unlikeable characters left and right. If you go into it with that in mind, this is an enjoyable story.

Penelope Rawlins and Kelly Burke did a great job bringing this one to life through audio. The production gets 5 stars from me.

SPOILERS

There were times I was screaming “red flag” at Anna concerning Cary in the first half of the book. I was borderline annoyed to be dealing with another Lowen (Verity) or Sylvia (The Wife Upstairs) situation with the main character feeling inferior to some successful, handsome man with an absent wife. After I figured out what was going on, I quickly realized that wasn’t the case at all. I was also initially irritated to have yet another unread diary in my midst and another woman taking her precious time reading it. If I’ve said it in one review, I’ll say it again—SKIP TO THE END, PEOPLE!

I was a little disappointed in the ending. Several things were tied up quickly, but I would’ve liked more information into what eventually happened to Cary. He’s the typical narcissistic husband that we’ve read about many times before, but I did enjoy that he was more of a means to propel the story than the entire focus like in other popular books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in advance of the release date. This review is being shared on NetGalley and Instagram.

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🏙️ book publisher: Bookouture
🌃 audiobook publisher: Bookouture Audio
🎧 listened on: NetGalley
🎙️ narrators: Penelope Rawlins and Kelly Burke

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"His Last Wife" captivated me from the very first page to the last. With its intricate plot twists, compelling characters, and masterful storytelling, it's a gripping tale that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. The author's ability to create such vivid imagery allowed me to immerse myself fully into the world of the characters, making it an unforgettable reading experience. Each chapter left me eager for more, and the ending left me stunned and thoroughly satisfied. I highly recommend "His Last Wife" to anyone in search of a thrilling and thought-provoking read. It's truly a five-star read

WOW! WOW! WOW! When Anna meets Cary and their friendship starts to blossom into something more, he confesses that his wife, Presley, my not actually be dead as he had led her to believe. Presley disappeared soon after the birth of her and Cary's baby girl, Harper, and her body has never been found. By this point, Anna has already fallen for Harper and Cary, and the little girl is calling Anna mummy.

The neighbours and Presley's mother all have prefect Presley on a pedestal and Anna struggles to feel accepted, and then she finds Presley's diary and everything turns on it's head in spectacular style!

This fabulously written and faced paced story is narrated by Anna, Presley and an unidentified "watcher" and all of the characters were intriguing and fascinated me in their own way. I really couldn't see how Ruhi Choudhary was going to pull all of the different elements together and then it hit me out of nowhere... A twist to die for! As the twists kept coming and the book reached a gripping conclusion with my heart racing, there was still MORE and I would never ever have predicted that one in a million years! Well played, Ruhi!

I listened to the audiobook and the two narrators, Penelope Rawlins and Kelly Burke both did an excellent job of bringing these great characters to life.

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Ruhi Choudhary and Bookouture, for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This book is easily devoured with all of the twists and unsuspecting turns. Great domestic thriller that will leave you engaged and in suspense. The narrator was also really good for this story and the characters. There are so many dimensions to this story line, but easy to follow. The characters all add to the plot and twists, which adds another layer of depth. The writing style makes you feel as though you are watching a movie with all the creative descriptions perfectly placed. The addition of the "watcher" added to the suspense and the reveal was shocking.

What a twisty, addictive psychological, domestic thriller! Anna, a receptionist at a therapy clinic develops a relationship with Cary, and orthopedic surgeon and patient of the clinic. Anna assumes the role of mother to Harper, as Cary’s wife, Presley, went missing and is presumed dead. Anna tries to fit in her new, well-to-do life. Although it took a while for the plot to build up as there was quite the backstory to build and characters to develop, it was well worth the wait for the thriller twists the last third of the novel. The two female narrators were great, each had distinguished emotions and were easy to understand.

His Last Wife by Ruhi Choudhary is a good read. I like the twists later on that are (mostly) different than expected. I inadvertently figured out who Watcher is because of a clue/question I wrote down early on, but I still stayed engaged throughout.

My issues are the narration and the timeline. Not just things being laid out in a confusing way, but also time changing without warning. For instance, a character is speaking to police and in the next sentence they are in a house. I found myself focusing more on trying to understand how that came to be rather than what's going on to the character in the house. There are other examples of this throughout the book, which makes it more of a struggle.

Penelope Rawlins and Kelly Burke aren't the most engaging narrators, which is frustrating. A secondary character dies and it happens so nonchalantly that I had to stop and ensure what I heard is what happened.

It's been a while since I struggled so much with trying to properly rate a book. I settled on 3.5 stars and decided to round up since I stayed engaged and was surprised by a twist or two.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio for providing me with an ALC.

I received an ARC of this book on audio and I could not press pause! I love a thriller that keeps you guessing and smacks you in the face with a plot twist right at the very end and that’s exactly what you get with “His Last Wife”.
I really liked the writing style and the trigger warnings at the beginning is something I really appreciate. The narrators done a brilliant job!
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Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to review this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This was a wild ride of a book. I absolutely loved it. Great narration and so well written. I was listening non stop to find out how things would unfold. I was not at all expecting the surprise twists, especially that reveal at the end.
Really great characters that you almost enjoyed disliking.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookoture for the ARC of this fun domestic thriller with an unexpected twist

Anna is moving in with the love of her life. Cary is handsome, rich and has an adorable daughter, Harper. After Cary’s wife, Presley, was abducted some time ago, Anna takes on the role as Harper’s mother. However this new ratchets to riches lifestyle is more complicated than Anna imagined. Not only does she has to handle Presley’s mother, who has a strong dislike for her, she also has to impress her new neighbours with dinner parties and get togethers. All of this would be fine if she hadn’t found Presley’d diary one day. A diary where she confesses that Cary is abusive. With a locked room she’s not allowed to enter and the dark secrets from the diary, Anna starts to winder if she really knows the man she’s fallen in love with.

We all know the set up for a domestic thriller; There’s usually a sketchy husband, a naive woman and lots of secrets. Yet I found this thriller surprising and well-executed. We mostly gets Anna’s point of view, but in between we get snippets from “the watcher”, which was a nice element to keep the suspense. Further into the novel we also get a new point of view that changes up the pace and the character dynamic.

I thought I knew where the plot was going, and though I predicted one of the twist I was surprised by others and shocked by the ending. The more we learn about Presley’s disappearance, the more complicated the mystery gets. What drives the novel is the lies and secrets both from Cary, the neighbour, the diary, but also from Anna herself. She has her own secrets that always leave the reader a bit in the dark, which I love.

I enjoyed the novel and would recommend it if you’re looking for a new and suspenseful domestic thriller.

I was approved to be an ARC for this book and I enjoyed reading it. The book starts off really good and the story is easy to follow, with a family in the midst of recent loss and recovery and healing we then start to find out more details of what has just happened with them, in the middle of the book everyone starts to interlace with each other and it kind of gets boring but it picks right back up and has a good ending. It even has a twist I never saw coming which I enjoyed. The writing style is great and it keeps the reader going.

I definitely enjoyed this narrator! She had great range and emotion. She was very entertaining. I listened to this book at 2x and it was the perfect speed.

I will say, there was definitely a big twist that I was not expecting. The rest fell a bit flat. There were a lot of secrets involved that are exposed 1 by 1. This book reminds me of a Lifetime movie.

Entertaining enough

This high quality audio sets the senses on fire with hus binge liaten as i desperately wanted to know who was who. The story was so much than it appeared and tge ending raped it all togwrher. Full of suspense. I enjoyed every second.
The cover appeared generic but as story developed i understood rhe red door as the late wife room. The parts were a good hook. And the way they came rogether. Bing listen. 5 star highly recommended.
Thank you netgallery and publisher and author and narrator

Thanks to NetGalley for this arc. First thing is Cary is a weird name for the husband but besides that, the narration was great and this kept getting better and better as it went on! this is so thrilling and wild! I loved it from beginning to end and I loved the twists and turns. Juliette kills me omg… but I totally recommend this book for people who want a quick read. Very fast paced and psychological/domestic for sure. My favourite kind of thriller.

My favorite part of this book is that Ruhi Choudhary ties up all the major loose ends. TW for domestic and sexual abuse. This is the kind of story in which you root for a character you know has been hurt, but the problem is that the character has been so severely hurt that they cannot (realistically) survive. This is also the kind of story with many moving parts and each part keeps you wondering about what is happening and who you should be cheering for. It is the kind of story that, once you pick it up, you cannot put down until the final, satisfying, line.

Thank you to @bookouture, @bookouture.audio and @netgalley for my gifted copy! I voluntarily leave my review.

Lies. Deceit. Betrayal. A guy who is not all that he seems. A woman that is not all the she seems. One TWISTED, a little bit demented and addicting story! Fast-paced with multiple POVs, this book had me HOOKED from the start. Not your typical domestic thriller!

This is definitely a mystery that had my head spinning, trying to figure out how all the clues fit together!

Fans of Freida McFadden and Kiersten Modglin will love this book!

WHAT a roller coaster of a book. Every time I thought I new what was going to happen or who it was, I found out I was wrong.

The definition of an unputdownable book. Riveting with amazing twists and turns from start to finish! The suspense alone will give you whiplash on this ride-give us more Ruhi! #HisLastWife #NetGalley

This was my first book by the author and thought it was good and a typical domestic thriller. I found it a bit slow and did like that it was divided in four parts. I found that it had a lot of twists in it but it still didn't overly grip me unfortunately and I'm sure I'm probably in the minority. I would round this up to 3 stars overall, maybe I'm being a bit harsh before I read and listen to so many thrillers. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this audio arc