This is the first book I've read by Jack Heath. The title and subject of the book are what intrigued me and I was excited to read this book: murder mystery in a secluded cabin, yes please! The book started off slowly and the multiple POVs were a bit overwhelming to try and keep organized. However, I am so glad I continued reading the book... the secrets and drama all mixed to create a really interesting whodunnit. Every single time I thought I was on to something, a new secret would be revealed and I was back at the beginning trying to figure it out.
I really enjoyed this book!

The Wife Swap bounces between the POV of a lead detective and her girlfriend, and the six individuals who found themselves in a horror story at a cabin in the woods. Three couples, all with so many secrets between them.

The beginning was a little bit of a slow burn but once we started getting more into the perspective of the three couples it was so enthralling. I kept trying to figure out who the murderer was, and I was SO wrong in the end. I never even suspected the actual killer.

This book was slightly twisted, and had a little bit of gore but nothing too unsightly. I enjoyed the authors writing style and the twists and turns.

The Wife Swap started out slow but ended up being a great read. It was difficult to keep the characters straight. I wish that their last names had been included in the information at the beginning of the book since that's how the police referred to them. The story was good although the end felt rushed. Kiara must be the smartest cop ever to have figured everything out as quickly as she did. It's still a good book for mystery/suspense readers.

Three couples, a weekend getaway, and a bit of partner swapping...what could possibly go wrong, right? Add in a lot of manipulation, secret plotting, and bad intentions and it turns out plenty can and does go wrong as the bodies start to pile up and a path of wreckage is left behind. This is one of those delightfully decadent train wrecks of a story that you never want to admit you enjoyed, but enjoy nonetheless.

Overall I enjoyed this thriller set in Australia. There were some aspects of the story that I found a bit unrealistic but there was a twist that made up for this in my eyes. It was a slow starter and for a while I wasn't sure where the plot was going. There were a quite a few different characters to get used to and different aspects I found hard to follow but it all came together in the end.

2.75/5. For the first 60% I wanted to DNF. It was a slow build. After that point that story picked up when the wife swap storyline began. Once it finally gets going, it’s a page turner. I didn’t enjoy the detective chapters and would have rather the author let than storyline shine.

Thank you NetGalley and Embalma books for the opportunity to read this Advance Reader Copy.

I lost track of all of the characters and had to give up on this book. I had high hopes from the description but just couldn’t follow the plot

Dom, Felicity, Oscar, Isla, Cole, & Clementine all decide to go away & stay in the mountains for a couples getaway. After some drinks & crazy truth or dare someone suggests that they switch spouses for the night. Some of the husbands and wives are actually up for it but there is one who is very reluctant but finally agrees. But things take a turn and two people end up dead, another missing, and two more end in police custody. This book took a bit to actually get rolling into finding out what happened, but although it was a slow start once it got going it was intense. I enjoyed reading how it unfolded to what happen that night & how it all came full circle. There were a few plot holes that didn’t seem realistic & I did not care for Kiara and Elise storyline that much (maybe there was a previous story w/ them ?) but other then that it was a good thriller. The writing style definitely has you eager to turn page after page to see what happens. Grateful for this complimentary copy for an exchange of my honest review.

I thought this book started out a little slow and difficult to follow with so many characters and points of view. It then got onto the twists and kept me guessing, but I was never right! I'm glad I read it and would recommend it to a friend who I think would enjoy.

This was a very twisty novel. It was slow to start, and I had a lot of trouble connecting to any of the characters, but I’m glad that I stuck it out. The twists were definitely interesting and unexpected. When six friends go on vacation together, they suddenly start to die. But all is not as it appears, and this one kept me guessing because I assumed who the killer was at least three different times.

The title drew me in. The book kept me hooked. What a great book

I was totally engrossed from the first page to the last page

Definitely kept me guessing which is something I want in an whodunit Thanks for the opportunity to review

I quite liked that this put a different spin on the whole friends getaway and someone is mental vibe by adding in a wife swap randomness so that was interesting. I'm not sure if that actually ended up making the plot better or worse, it felt like a load of unhappy people who didn't have the sense to just move on. There's a lot going on, it's a very wild ride, it's quite easy to keep up once you get used to who everyone is. I just didnt care. That might be a me issue. There's lots of jumping about and the detectives whole side story is also a bit pointless to the actual plot. I'm on the fence tbh

2.5⭐️ rounded up

This one wasn’t for me, but that doesn’t mean it’s not for anyone else. The premise was intriguing to me and the multiple perspectives made it an interesting read. Where it fell flat for me was the repetition and almost too many sub plots to keep up with. I didn’t have a hard time following or anything, but it was a bit messy. 🥲 I hated almost every character lol but maybe that was the point!

All in all, I wouldn’t go out of my way to tell someone to read this, but I also wouldn’t go out of my way to tell someone not to. 🙂

When two couples agree to swap partners for a night, they find themselves entangled in a dangerous web of deceit and betrayal. Heath’s masterful twists and suspenseful storytelling keep the reader on edge, making this a thrilling and unpredictable ride from start to finish.

My thanks to Embla books, Jack Heath and Netgalley.
First off......May Jack Heath live a very long and very productive life in storytelling!
I'll admit that I was indeed very curious about whether I'd even enjoy a Heath book that didn't have my favorite cannibal in it. "Hi, Timothy!"
Turns out that Mr. Heath is just as whackadoo with his other stories too!
So, Jack absolutely owns me!. Yep! I guess he could call me his Montana bitch!
Onto the review! Oh, noo!
Yeah, Lisa Noell don't play that! Let's get real. I've never given a review in my life! i just run off at the mouth. So far so good, yeah? But, just lately? Hell, I'm just trying.to wind this shit down.
I'm finally admitting that I'm too sick and possibly tired to keep up on these book reviews
On the plus side? I haven't been this happy in 15 years.
Terrific storytelling.

I found this story to be so mincing and just crazy like we find in true crime so that kept me reading and wanting to figure out the killer. Some bit were a bit random though the murder story of it was good enough to support the rest.

I thought this book started out a little slow, but what a wild ride it turned into! The different Povs from different timelines were hard to follow at times. However, I was guessing all the way up until the end, and I never did figure out “whodunnit.” Overall a good locked room mystery! 2.5 stars rounded up.

This was interesting for me! At first I was unenthusiastic, so many different characters right off the bat can be hard for me to keep up with, but upon reading I actually had a hard time putting it down. That may have been because I just wanted to see how it ended. I will say, I found it hard to root for any characters given that I didn't feel connected to any of them. I also felt like any of them could have killed/been killed because they were all so clearly unhappy in their relationships. I found the side plot of the main detectives relationship unnecessary and distracting. I also was confused about a past crime with the detective's partner, not sure if that was in a different book but it confused me that that kept being brought up. Overall, not perfect but I did enjoy parts of it, and I was surprised by who was behind everything!

“The wife swap” follows three couples who have been friends since high school who decide to go away on a weekend vacation together and reunite their friendships and rekindle lost passions.

When first going into this book I for some reason expected it to be solely focussed on the couples getaway, however I found a large percentage of the book to actually be focussed on the detective and her personal life as she investigates the events of the weekend that left multiple people dead.

There is back and forth in timelines and switch of POV between all the characters, it can be easy to lose track of who’s who and who is married to who but after a while of reading you become familiar with the who’s and the whats and the where’s of it all.

There is definitely a lot of drama and twists so I know some readers will have an absolute blast with this book. Unfortunately I just didn’t find myself connecting with the characters or becoming rooted with the plot itself. I’ll definitely try another book by the author in the future to get an overall feel for their writing.

Thank you to Embla books and Jack Heath for the EARC!

Publish date: August 20th 2024

This book for me was a page turner!! Always wondering who done it.. I loved I couldn’t easily guess the mystery of who did what to who.. Loved the side story romance mixed in… will definitely seeking out more books by this author..