DNF at 56%.

The concept was intriguing, but unfortunately there was way too much unnecessary detail about everyone’s lives that weren’t helping to push the plot along and just dragging. There was no one to root for, either — the FMC was blatantly stupid for being a CEO.

🧠 Thoughts:
This thriller pulled me in right from the start and didn’t let go. I was completely surprised by the twist halfway through and couldn’t stop reading until the end! It’s a FIVE STAR read that kept me thinking about the characters even after I finished.

📝 Summary:
Emma is a successful businesswoman who falls in love with Matthew, a younger man whose wife, Becky, passed away. At first, their relationship seems perfect, but strange things start happening—items go missing, things break, and Emma starts to feel uneasy. As her friends grow concerned and Emma begins questioning everything, the story shifts to reveal a much darker truth. Readers get to see how Emma’s character changes as she tries to uncover what’s really happening around her. The plot builds suspense through shifting perspectives and hidden motives, keeping the reader guessing until the final pages.

🙏 Thank you to NetGalley, Adele Parks, and Harlequin for the chance to read this exciting and suspenseful book in exchange for a review!
This one came out in March, making it available now!

Adele Parks has done it again. I flew through this one on vacation day 1-2 and really enjoyed it! It was gripping, unpredictable and CHILLING! Everything one needs for a vacation read,

Emma, enamored with her new husband, Matthew, acknowledges that their courtship was brief. However, she often feels uneasy when he speaks fondly of his first wife, Becky. He describes their love as an unparalleled passion. Despite her lingering feelings that Matthew is still in love with Becky, she can’t help but be captivated by their passionate relationship.

Emma’s budding romance with Matthew was to be met with skepticism from her lifelong friends. Perhaps it’s because Matthew is younger, or perhaps it’s simply because she rushed into the relationship and marriage. Things don’t go smoothly for Emma, and strange occurrences begin to disrupt her life. She starts feeling as if she’s being haunted by Becky’s ghost.

Kristin Atherton’s narration of this fast-paced story is expertly done. While the story is intriguing, particularly when Emma is feeling haunted, I found myself drawn to the twists and turns that kept the plot moving at a rapid pace.

Many thanks to MIRA and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

This book was a wild ride full of twists & turns, and I was honestly questioning the majority of the characters throughout the book. I really enjoyed the plot twists, and was genuinely surprised by the ending - I had no idea that was coming. By the end of the book, I was starting to wonder if I really know the people closest to me in my life or if some of them have secrets like these characters did.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

What an incredible read. Every twist and amazing turn left my jaw on the floor! This was the craziest love triangle ever, and I couldn't get enough. 5 huge stars for the First Wife's Shadow!!

Twisty and suspenseful, The First Wife’s Shadow keeps you guessing until the very last page. It has secrets, lies, and you’ll question every character’s motive through the chapters to uncover the truth.

I enjoyed this one! In the beginning, I thought this was going to be your regular run-of- the- mill domestic thriller featuring a powerful and rich female executive (Emma) and her new much younger love interest (Matthew) who seems too good to be true. That was not the case with FIRST WIFE'S SHADOW! As the story progresses you start to see the couple's relationship unraveling and you don't know who or what to believe. About 50% in there is a jaw- dropping twist and the story amps up from there. While I did predict a twist or two, it did not take away my overall enjoyment of the story and there were still more twists that I never saw coming.

I highly recommend FIRST WIFE'S SHADOW to domestic thriller lovers!

I love a good thriller and have been looking for new-to-me authors, which is why I requested this one. I really enjoyed this read--thanks so much for the gifted copy

What a twisted web this one is! I really enjoyed this thriller with so many surprises.

Emma is a single CEO, and Matthew is a widower whose wife recently died. They begin dating and things move very quickly, despite there being flashing red lights to warn her about this new relationship. About halfway through the story, the surprises begin, and to be honest, there’s one after another until the end. What a wild ride! The pacing is really perfect, and the author keeps revealing just a little more…!

I highly recommend this one! 4.5 glittering stars rounded up!

I received a copy of the digital ARC via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Emma is a wealthy, successful, independent woman in her mid-forties, who has been perfectly happy with her solo life, until she meets Matthew, a man a decade younger, with whom she falls for, fast.
The two become a tight pair, despite her friends' skepticism about his intentions, and the fact that he is still openly grieving the death of his first wife.
Their blissful existence becomes threatened when weird things start happening to Emma. Is she being sabotaged, haunted, or going crazy, and what, if anything, does Matthew have to do with it?
This was a fun thriller with a few twists and turns, some that were kinda easy to some coming, and some not as much.
Thanks to #netgalley and #mirabooks for this #arc of #firstwifesshadow by #adeleparks in exchange for an honest review.

This one was decent; but I feel like it tried too hard to throw that curveball at the end. Unfortunately, the lead up to that "twist" was pretty excruciating: a female main character who ignores ALL the red flags, her best friends advice, etc. By the time the end came around, I actually stopped caring. I enjoyed the narration.
Share your review!
We’ve already copied it to your clipboard.

I've always enjoyed Adele Parks' books so it was a no brainer for me to request an ARC of First Wife's Shadow, especially after reading the description. Once again Adele Parks delivers an exceptional domestic thriller -- with gaslighting GALORE. There are essentially three main characters, and Parks provided the perfect amount of backstory/complimentary characters for each and also wove together past and present drama seamlessly. The perfect read this summer!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of First Wife's Shadow by Adele Parks.

This is a psychological thriller about a financially successful Emma who meets a younger man Matthew. Despite their economic differences, the two fall in love, but suspicion does revolve around them, could Matthew be a gold digger?

That suspicion gets even louder when strange things start happening to Emma, things that resemble what happened to Matthews first, deceased wife. Is Matthew dangerous, or are more sinister forces at play?

This was a very middle of the road thriller. I do feel like I've read it before, so while I enjoyed it, nothing about it knocked my socks off. Adele Parks is a great author, so the journey will be fun, I just wouldn't plan to be blown away.

Cover to cover I was hooked and every twist had me gripping the book I still trying to wrap my head around it!!

really good mystery. Kept me on my toes and loved all of the characters and what they went through on this journey. Loved that they a happy ending happened.

This was unfortunately my least favorite book by this author! It was still a fun and intriguing read but I did find the storyline slow at some points and redundant. I will still continue to read this author.

This twisty thriller kept me on my toes more than I expected. Just when I thought I had the plot figured out, it delivered a surprise that caught me off guard. The writing is sharp, and while I disliked nearly every character for one reason or another, it felt like an intentional choice for the story. The pacing was uneven for me. Around halfway, I was ready for a big finale... and then it just kept going. The extended wrap-up wore on, turning what could have been a snappy, satisfying conclusion into something that dragged. I appreciate a thorough ending and love a well-done epilogue, but this wasn’t that for me. The premise was solid, the reveals effective, and it delivered a few rewarding shocks. Not quite a favourite, but worth the read if you like a layered deception.

Thanks to NetGalley and MIRA Books for access to this book.

I am a huge fan of Adele Parks and have loved all of her thrillers. They are twisty and creepy and I never know where her words are going to take me. This is one of her best with all of the spectacular twisty, creepy parts. I devoured it!

Emma and Matthew meet and the relationship almost seems too good to be true. Oops, maybe it is. As things move quickly between the two of them, others in Emma's life urge her to slow down. And then Emma starts doubting herself, and Matthew.

I was totally blown away by the twist that ended this amazing story. If you love psychological thrillers that keep you guessing until the end, First Wife's Shadow is one you definitely should read. I can't recommend it enough! I loved it!

Firstly, let me say that the Emma-in-the-sauna scene had me sweating. Now, with that out of the way, this book was just mid (as the kids say). I'm not the biggest Adele Parks fan; to be honest, I don't even remember reading Lies, Lies, Lies, but the folks here at NetGalley say I gave it four stars in 2020 so . . .

Emma was annoying. Her character went from being independent, confident, and content with her job, home, and friends, to being a caricature of how she was originally presented. She was also incredibly self-centered and thoughtless (like, bringing up Matthew's finances in front of her friends at any point, let alone the FIRST time he met them? Girl, no.) I will admit I gasped out loud at a twist I did not see coming AT ALL, but then that led me immediately to figuring out the second twist. The ending was completely, 100% unbelievable, and there were a few other things that strained credibility, but I don't want to spoil anything by putting them here.

Everyone needs friends like Gina and Heidi, because I'm not sure I would have been as quick to forgive Emma as they were.