First Wife's Shadow was a quick read from Adele Parks. The first half was a bit slow, but it did pick up in the second half. There were some nice twists to this one. I recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First Wife’s Shadow by Adele Parks is a gripping psychological thriller that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. The story follows Emma, a wealthy and independent CEO, who falls for Matthew, a charming widower. As their relationship progresses, Emma becomes increasingly haunted by the memory of Matthew’s first wife, Becky.

Parks masterfully builds suspense as Emma’s doubts and fears grow. Strange occurrences and a sense of being watched add to the tension, making Emma question her sanity and the true nature of her relationship with Matthew. The novel explores themes of love, trust, and the lingering shadows of the past, all while delivering unexpected twists and turns.

Overall, First Wife’s Shadow is a compelling read that will appeal to fans of psychological thrillers and domestic noir. It's a story that delves into the complexities of relationships and the impact of past traumas. This was a book that I couldn't put down. I really enjoyed it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advanced copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

This was an interesting thriller. I think I liked the second half of the story more than the first but it was somewhere between 3.5 to 4 stars for me. I honestly didn't see the biggest twist coming...and I have to wonder if I was the only one who didn't see it coming or not. Either way, I would look for more books by Adele Parks in the future.

First Wife’s Shadow by Adele Parks

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for a complimentary copy of this novel!
This is a psychological thriller with twists you won’t see coming! Matthew’s first wife, Becky, died. Emma is a rich woman in her late 40’s, while Matthew is about 11 years younger than her. Emma has never been married. She has her habits and routines set, so when she meets Matthew at a conference it’s something new and exhilarating for Emma. Their relationship takes off so fast that Emma’s friends are concerned Matthew is interested in Emma simply for her money. Afterall, he is broke. However, Becky’s shadow and memory keeps lurking in the background. Matthew keeps bringing her up. Matthew has moved in with Emma and they’re planning on getting married, but things begin to happen around the house. Items get moved around, there is a weird small in the air, furniture gets damaged, etc. Emma begins to think she is going crazy. Then she falls off a ladder outside, the same way Becky died! Emma begins to think Becky’s ghost if haunting her!!! She doesn’t know who to trust...not her new husband, not her two girlfriends, and especially not herself! Has Emma really lost it or is something or someone else doing all this? Look for this novel on March 18, 2025 to find out what happens to Emma and who is behind all the weird happenings!!! 4 stars

First Wife's Shadow was a quick and entertaining read! The twists and turns kept me hooked throughout the whole story. I would definitely recommend.

In this story, we meet Emma. A very put together woman... Physically fit, a high power job, financially fit. She is ok with the fact that in midlife, she hasn't found her forever partner. Enter Matthew. A much younger widowed man who has her smitten. A chance meeting has her head over heels. Their relationship moves at a very quick pace and her friends are not too happy with her. Once she finds herself estranged from them, strange things start happening. The second half of the book keeps you guessing and is a really fast read. Really enjoyed this book. I would like to thank The Killer Crime Club on Facebook and Netgalley for the ARC.

First Wife’s Shadow
Adele Parks

I can feel the malice lurking behind my eyelids and the scenes in Adele Parks’ First Wife’s Shadow. The title is a hint. T

Despite dead parents, cold rich relatives and druggie/ hippie brother, Single Emma is a fit , mid forty extremely disciplined CEO and Spokesperson of an eco smart company. She has built her dream eco home of glass out in the woods of Hampshire.

Emma’s best friends are Heidi and Gina. Both are married. Both have kids. They have girls nights and meals with all the families. Emma may feel included but the woods get lonely for companionship.

Enter Matthew, a young, handsome widowed photographer, Emma meets at one of her corporate speaking engagements. As they become a pair, Emma has strange mishaps that happen when she is at her home. These events seem bizarre and mostly harmless when Matthew meets all her friends and makes a good impression but Heidi girl is wondering aloud what’s up?!

Things escalate and accelerate. Matthew has moved in, freaks out about having a big wedding, they elope in the Maldives, Heidi and Emma are on the outs. Emma’s control snaps as home break in/ attacks become perilous. Does Matthew believe her? Will her friends rally even though she’s cut them off? Who is after her?

You absolutely must read the First Wife’s Shadow to find out. ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I love Adele Parks’ books and highly recommend them to friends who love domestic suspense often. Thank you to Mira Books and NetGalley for an advanced digital read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review!

This book was a quick and easy read, however there were so many times I wanted to yell at the main character because she ignored obvious red flag after red flag. Because of her ignorance and its predictability, I would rate this 2.5.

4 1/2 stars.

Emma is at the top of her game. She is CEO in a male dominated industry, physically more fit than most women of her age, has long time friends, and is satisfied with her life. Then she meets Matthew, a much younger man with a less financially rewarding career, whose attention sweeps her off her feet.

He seems perfect at first, but Matthew comes with baggage in the form of a dead wife buried in another country. He has left family, and friends behind in other countries, and has an unwillingness to talk about them. His lack of connections sparks suspicion in Emma’s friends, especially when after only a few weeks of dating he moves into her home and then proposes.

Emma is unwilling to acknowledge that she has doubts about the relationship, as small unnerving things begin to happen. Items in and around her home are moved, vandalized, or reappear after going missing for hours or days. Her parents’ grave has been vandalized. And, Matthew constantly brings up things he liked to do with his dead wife that make her feel like an interloper.

A wedge is being inserted between Emma and her friends. As her relationship with Matthew progresses, her friendships begin to crumble. Finally Emma becomes more and more isolated, fearing for her sanity and unable to trust her own memories.

As a fan of mysteries, my mind is working overtime trying to figure out where this is all going. Is this going to be a Rebecca situation, or an Agatha Christie experience, or similar to crimson peak, or something in between? And then I reach the midpoint of the story and it all becomes clear. Brilliant.

I won’t say anything more at this point other than I give this story 4.5 stars out of 5. I can’t wait to read something else by this author.

Thank you to: Harlequin Trade Publishing & NetGalley for this ARC ebook by Adele Parks
*Release date is set for: March 18, 2025

5 -⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Emma, is a CEO of a company. She is rich, smart and organized with everything in her life. She meets Matthew, a widower and their relationship moves very fast.

Matthew has no money but Emma doesn't care. After getting engaged quickly, her friends are suspicious but for Emma, the only thing she can't shake is being 2nd best to Mathews first perfect dead wife and she becomes obsessed with her. This is when things start getting strange. Things start happening, & Emma's life starts to unravel. Emma starts to feel like she is being haunted by Matthew's first wife, or is she?

This is a gripping book with lots of twists & turns. My jaw was on the ground many times while reading this, which is a sign that it is a good one. I would recommend this book.

Once again, thank you to: Harlequin Trade Publishing & NetGalley for this ARC ebook.

#HarlequinTradePublishing | #NetGalley #FirstWifesShadow

This is a difficult one for me to review simply because the first half left me frustrated because I just knew what was going to happen and the story was going too slow for my taste. I wanted to DNF it a few times. I even found myself skimming it, but I'm so glad I stuck it out, because the last half is what I was here for. The twists and different POVs really shed light onto the whole story and made me like First Wife's Shadow that much more.

Emma is a successful woman that has it all. Career, money, friends. But the one thing she doesn't have is a romantic relationship. With her best friends married off and with families, she has kind of been left on the side. But when she meets a younger man at a conference, she thinks her luck may have changed.

Matthew is a widower and is still getting his life together nearly a year after the death of his wife. When he meets Emma at a conference, they have a little connection. But it's not until she calls him for a job weeks later that they end up really connecting and slowly building a friendship that quickly turns into more. Matthew seems to be all in with Emma and Emma wants the happiness that her friends have had, so she jumps in with both feet. But Emma's friends see all the red flags and want her to put on the brakes and take things a bit slower. They care for Emma and the last thing they want to see is her taken advantage of. Or do they just not want Emma to leave their little friend group for this new younger man??

As I said above, the first half was a little slow and all from Emma's POV. Emma and her decisions frustrated me to the point that I nearly DNFed the book on a few occasions. BUT, I HAD to know how this story ended and I pushed on. And once we got a taste of another POV? Well, that changed everything for me. I liked seeing the other side of the story and how the puzzle pieces connected. I had an inkling of an idea, but not the whole picture. And even when things escalate to the point of no return, there are still MORE twists that I did not see coming and it really made me like the journey that much more.

With all that said, I want a book that immediately draws me in and while this book didn't exactly have that, it had enough to keep me invested and wanting to know more. Even with the slower start, and characters that aren't always likable, I would recommend sticking around for the ending that just may surprise you. 3.5 stars

This is the first book I have read by Adele Parks but certainly will not be the last. First Wife's Shadow has a little bit of everything, friendship, love, betrayal, revenge and forgiveness. I found I couldn't put it down but was a little slow in the beginning but then WOW! that is all I could say. It was like a rollercoaster with so many twists and turns and what an ending. I really enjoyed this story and can't wait to read more from her. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

💔 F R E A K Y F R I D A Y review 💔 featuring “First Wife’s Shadow” by Adele Parks!

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

Emma is a BOSS woman: a successful CEO, wealthy, independent and thrives on routines. The only thing that is missing is someone to share her life with and start a family with.

Insert Matthew: a handsome photographer that is kind, down to earth and a widower. The pair meet at a conference and there is an instant connection and attraction. Matthew reveals that he is ready to move on from his first wife’s death … but only time will tell.

Emma’s two best friends are skeptical of her whirlwind romance and fear that Matthew may be after Emma’s money. This puts a wedge in their friendship and pushes Emma even closer to Matthew. When things are good with them, Emma has never been happier, but soon she catches onto how much Matthew compares her and their relationship to his ex wife. Will Emma always feel that she is living in her shadow?? As red flags begin to show themselves more frequently, the feeling of being second best becomes much more sinister …

👏 Adele Parks never fails to bring a dark and twisted thriller to the table! This book really messes with your head and pushes you to second guess everything! With menacing themes of revenge, betrayal, gaslighting, extortion, greed and jealousy, this book is everything you want in a binge worthy psychological thriller!

Thank you kindly to @adele_parks @_mira_books_ @htpbooks @harpercollinsca @netgalley for my #gifted advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on March 18, 2025!

A solid psychological thriller with a few decent twists. The middle section was the best part; the beginning and ending were both a bit slow.

Thanks to HarperCollinsCanada and Netgalley for this ARC.

I found this book to be just ok. I wanted to like it more than I did, but it just did not seem plausible that someone in Emma' s position would behave the way she did.

I don't think the relationships with her friends of years was given enough attention, and the way that things played out seemed very obvious. I had a hard time being interested in Emma and the final "surprise" was very anti climatic. I really did like the description of Emma's success and hard work, but with all the build up to how smart, fortunate and successful she is, you wonder why she is not asking better questions.

I am hoping I can find another title from the same author that captures me more.

Thank you, Netgalley, Killer Crime Club, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the egalley of this book.

I found that this book started out extremely slow. Painfully slow, actually. I really tried to like the book, but I didn't. I really disliked how ridiculously insecure the main character Emma was. I finished the book, but can't say I enjoyed it. I've read previous books bynAdele Parks, and this was my least favorite . 2.5 out of 5 ⭐️ rounded up to 3

This was a very fun & perfectly paced domestic thriller. It had two big plot twists that kept it fresh and entertaining. I liked how the characters were not one dimensional but were more complex due to their situations and backstories--it made the story even more interesting. Well written & better than the average thriller.

First Wife’s Shadow was an intense and entertaining thriller right off the bat.
When Emma rushes into a quick marriage, her friends aren’t so sure of the hasty decision. Is she prepared for the challenges and consequences to come? When strange incidents begin to happen, Emma isolates herself and even starts to question her own reality. She doesn’t know who to trust, or whether she can even trust herself.
Adele’s writing is clever and addictive. This is a great read for those who love a good domestic thriller.

Kindle Copy for Review from Net Galley, Kller Crme Club and Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA.

I received a free, advance copy of this book and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

Emma thinks she has found her perfect guy as she rushes to marry hm. Her friends think he is not all he seems and that he is hiding something. Soon she finds herself beng compared to his irst wife by him. Doubts start creeping in as she wonders why he really married her. Red flags have wondering fi she made the right decision or is she jusr becoming paranoid? A psychological thriller you want t devour.

Loved this one! I don't think I've been disappointed by an Adele Parks novel yet. This was such a good domestic suspense. I love the secrets / lies / obsession trope, and this one definitely delivered. I'll absolutely be buying a copy for my shelf when it comes out. 4 stars. Highly recommend!