The Wives is an evenly paced psychological thriller that revolves around eight characters and their secrets that come to light on an intense 7 day cruise.

This was a gripping thriller with chapters dedicated to PoVs of each wife. It kept me hooked with just the right amount of scandal, lies, deception and twists and turns. The exotic cruise was a perfect setting for a locked door mystery.

Intense drama combined with mystery and intrigue, this popcorn thriller makes for a fun vacation read.

Thank you @theboldbookclub @valeriekeogh2 and @netgalley for the digital ARC to read and share my honest review.

📚 PUBLICATION MONTH BOOK REVIEW 📚

The Wives By Valerie Keogh
Publication Date: November 6, 2024
Publisher: Boldwood Books

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚MY REVIEW:

When I think about the queen of diabollically-delicious domestic thrillers, Valerie Keogh always comes to the forefront of my mind. The Wives is a salacious thriller about a group of long-time friends and the secrets they keep - and the lengths they'll go to keep them.

This book was such a fun read, and one that I devoured with its short chapters and multiple POVs. The tale is told from the perspectives of the four female friends: Natasha, Tracy Ann, Michele, and Barbara, who've been friends since their college days. Natasha has been the only still-single friend among the bunch, until she meets Daniel. The relationship between Natasha and Daniel moves quickly, and once they're married, she's thrilled to finally be a wife amongst her married friends. The four couples agree to take a week-long exotic cruise together - and the decision changes their lives forever.

Something felt shady about everybody in this book from the beginning. This was a whole cast of unreliable characters, and it was fun trying to guess the how, who, and why of this book's mystery. I would have loved just a little more backstory to create a better understanding of how these women became friends, though maybe in the long run it didn't matter for the storyline. To me, it felt like some of the history of these characters was missing, which could have created a greater understanding of the story. All in all, this was a thrilling ride with lots of twists and turns that I didn't see coming in the first half of the book.

If domestic thrillers are your vibe, you're going to love The Wives... And everything by Valerie Keogh, to be honest. Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this advanced e-book in exchange for my honest review.

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Thank you to Boldwood, Valerie Keough and Netgalley for giving me an ARC.
I enjoy reading books about the elite and their lifestyles. Valerie brought these best friends to life on the pages. I enjoyed the different POVs as the story progressed. It made me keep reading as I needed to know what happened next.
I will definitely read more of her books as I love the secrets, scandal and twists in this read.

Thank you Boldwood Books for a copy on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Wives is a mystery drama written by UK author Valerie Keogh.
Think rich wives and their husbands on a luxury cruise where someone dies and everyone has secrets and is a suspect.
Natasha is a nurse with a plan.
She meets wealthy, attractive and successful Daniel, knowing he will make the perfect husband.
Then Daniel suggests a glamorous holiday with her best friends and their spouses.
The four couples vacation in opulence and extravagance.
But Daniel has secrets and everyone wants him dead…..
And they all have their own reason to kill…
Unfortunately the lack of suspense, intrigue and surprise, made for an ordinary read.
It started off quite strong, then did a dip and finished with a not bad ending.
So much potential however needing more explanation.

What a great read - 4 stars! If you enjoy soap opera drama, longtime female friendships, and some bad eggs, this is the book for you. I thoroughly enjoyed the range of emotions, the accusations, the relationships, the messed up feelings, the suspiciousness and the betrayals. Four couples head out on a cruise together. From the outside, everything seems fine. But there is a lot going on. Who can be trusted? Who is keeping secrets? Who is genuine? When life gets tough, who will be there for you? Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the digital ARC.

The Wives by Valerie Keogh was a brilliant read and I loved it. This was a book that I started and ended up reading it in 1 sitting. WoW this book was so good, its full of twists and turns with great characters you will love Natasha and her 3 best friends Barbara, Tracy-Ann and Michele, they are all very close and they have been friends for years, until Natasha meets Daniel who is rich, handsome and very charming, Daniel will make the perfect husband for her. Their wedding was perfect in every way, they are so happy......

Then, Daniel surprises Natasha with a wonderful cruise holiday......then surprised her by telling her, her best friends and their husbands have been invited to go with them.......and to top it they all are booked in one of the best rooms on the cruise ships..........WoW.......What a gent!

But, as the ship sets sail, Natasha learns that he is far from being the perfect husband, Daniel has terrible secrets that are about to be revealed. And each of the wives has their own reasons for wanting him dead.

WoW this book is excellent and I can't recommend The Wives enough......But, plan your day wisely as this book will take over your day!!!!!!

With friends like these, who needs enemies??

At first, I thought Natasha was a wholesome, likable character. Boy oh boy, was I ever wrong. Natasha has a whirlwind romance with successful and handsome Daniel. Natasha and Daniel decide to plan an exotic cruise and they invite some of Natasha's friends and their husbands. It seems like such a great idea until they get on the cruise ship and secrets start to fly...

When one of their own ends up dead, there are many suspects regarding who the murderer is. The ending is definitely not what I expected!

I've read several books by this author, and she never disappoints.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion/review.

All I can say is wow! This one had me guessing until the very end. Everyone had a motive, but you'll never guess who did it.

The Wives was an engaging read that hooked me very quickly.

The characters, 4 couples, were all deeply flawed and I found them interesting. I wanted to keep reading to see how it would all unfold. I guessed some parts and other parts I did not see coming.

This is the second book I've read by this author and I have enjoyed them both.

Overall this is a quick entertaining thriller and if you are a fan of this genre you should definitely give this one a go.

I really enjoyed this one. Four couples who are friends go on a fancy cruise. It transpires that the wives have been friends for years but they don’t really like each other. Natasha and her husband Daniel are the more recent on the newlyweds. I hated Daniel from the beginning. There is a backstory between the couples that we learn about. A”9t of twists and turns. I have been on a couple of cruises and enjoyed the cruise vibe in this read.

This book had a lot of potential but I didn’t love it- it wasn’t very suspenseful, the characters weren’t distinguishable, and I had trouble understanding their motivations for some of their actions. The story centers on Natasha, who is recently married to Daniel. They decide to go on a cruise on a fancy ship and invite her 3 best friends and their husbands. There is a murder, and many secrets are exposed.

I really had a hard time understanding why these women were friends, as they didn’t seem to like each other much. Yet, allegedly, they had been friends for ages! While the POV moves through all 4 them, I didn’t think they stood out enough for me to remember who was who as I read, and I often had to stop and refamiliarize myself with who was talking. I knew immediately who the murderer was but I felt like the author went for the surprise factor rather than giving the reader good info on why they did what they did. I also felt like Natasha wasn’t characterized that well and I didn’t understand her ulterior motives that were alluded to throughout the book. On the positive side, the story was fast paced and I finished it quickly. I also loved the cruise setting.

Overall, this one wasn’t for me, but I thank Netgalley for providing me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Wives' by Valerie Keogh.

Yet another absolutely MASSIVE success from this extremely talented author!! Grab your copy today!! .

Valerie has done it yet again!!If you are ever looking for a fast paced thriller then Valerie is definitely the author for you!!! I don't even bother reading the synopsis before I start reading her books now because I just know they are going to be fantastic. As you can tell I LOVED the storyline!!! I found it to be extremely fast paced and I just could not put it down and ended up reading it in one sitting. I cannot remember the last time I flew through a book so quickly. In this gripping page turner we meet Natasha who has met and fallen for the charming, rich and handsome Daniel. She works at the hospital but has been struggling so Daniel tells her to quit as he can afford to support them. It is not long before Daniel proposes to her and they get married. Natasha's three closest friends Barbara, Tracy-Ann and Michele are all married and she is has now become the last to get married in her circle. Daniel proposes that the four couples go on an all expenses paid cruise that he will pay for. Natasha feels that her friends are reluctant but in the end they all agree and set sail. However all is not as it seems and when emotions, secrets and problems start to come out the holiday starts turning in to a nightmare. What are the couples hiding? With 8 friends together for a week in close capacity what will they learn about each other and will they still be friends by the end? grab your copy of this absolutely gripping page turner for yourselves to find out. I can guarantee that you will love it and if you have never read any of Valerie's books before now I can promise that you will be addicted. With a storyline ram packed with friendship, a cruise, mystery, romance, drama, secrets, tension, suspense, betrayal, alcohol, lies, revenge and everything you could ask for in a psychological thriller and much more what on Earth are you waiting for? I absolutely loved the cruise ship setting and have only read not even a handful of books set on a cruise ship and this was my first psychological thriller set on one so well done Valerie! It is getting harder and harder to discover unique books with unique settings but you have done it yet again!! Valerie also does an absolutely incredible job of weaving the perspectives of the multiple protagonist perspectives together ensuring the reader gets a bigger picture of what each of the friends are thinking and feeling without giving too much away until she is ready. Each and every time I went to put it down to do something my fingers were itching to pick it back up as I just HAD to know what happened next!! Valerie weaves her chapters together perfectly to make a seamless, page turning and intriguing storyline that flows perfectly taking you on twists and turns throughout! Valerie's evocative writing skills ensures you are dragged deep into the storyline seeing everything that is happening and feeling the tension and suspense throughout. I was on the edge of my seat and biting my nails wondering what was going to happen next. My heart was in my throat throughout reading this fast paced, gripping and gritty psychological thriller! It is ram packed with twists, tension, stress, suspense and everything you could ask for in a psychological thriller. I can't say more than that as I don't want to spoil it for future readers so if you want to know you'll have to grab yourself a copy!! You won't regret it!!

Clear your schedules before picking up this book as once it has you hooked there will be no getting away until you get to the very last word!!

The characters all come to life with Valerie's fantastic writing skills. They are well rounded, complex, realistic and strong making them all the more believable. I must admit that I actually was not a fan of any of the characters and actually despised some but still LOVED the book!! It isn't often where I come across a book where I can hate the characters but love the storyline but Valerie has done several where that is the case and I absolutely love to hate them!! there are characters who are selfish, disgraceful, devious and more. Even though I disliked them I was still completely invested in them all and itching to know what each was up to and/or hiding. this is one of those books that I really cannot say any more about the characters as I don't want to run the risk of ruining any part of this brilliant storyline for future readers so if you want to know more you will just have to grab your copy today!! I wont go into any more details about the characters as you need to meet them all yourselves but they will definitely bring out strong emotions out in the reader!!! Valerie really has done another absolutely amazing job constructing another addictive and explosive psychological thriller with varied characters that you just won't be able to put down!!

Congratulations Valerie on yet another amazing read!!! This is exactly why you are in my favourite author club!! Here's to many more successes 🥂!!!

Clear your schedules before picking this up as you will not be able to put it down!!!

Overall an absolutely page turning, addictive, gripping and gripping must read that will keep you addicted from the very start to the fantastic ending!!!

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Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

Natasha has married Daniel, a rich, confident, handsome man, she thinks she has the world by the tail. She felt confident enough to sign the prenup because they are in love. Natasha is excited to invite her three besties and their hubbies on a cruise, the women quickly agree and she thinks all wil be well. But perhaps things aren't as golden as Natasha thinks, there is obvious uncomfortability between the fiedns and Daniel, all for different reasons. Is Daniel really who Natasha thinks he is, or is he the man that each of the others think they know, they real Daniel. Once thing is for sure, not everyone is getting off this cruise. There were a few twists that I didn't see coming.

I enjoyed this book, it was a good read. I would defineitly check out more books by this author.

Secrets and lies are the focus of this cleverly controlled thriller which looks at the minutiae of the lives of a group of four wives, and their husbands, who embark on a fabulous all-expenses paid cruise which has been organised by Natasha’s wealthy husband, Daniel. The four women have been friends for a long time however, Natasha and Daniel, newly married, have changed the dynamic of this group of friends and it must be said that these changes are not for the better. As the cruise gets underway, it soon becomes apparent that there are a whole heap of secrets between the group which, if discovered, could have devastating consequences for all of them. As always this talented writer draws you into her world, creating friendships, bringing to life characters, who in this story were all largely unlikeable, and yet even with people you really dislike you can’t help but be connected to them on an emotional level. There were plot twists and turns aplenty, a jaw dropping moment which I really didn’t see coming and a thoroughly satisfying ending which made me close the book with a wry smile.

I read The Wives over the space of a couple of afternoons as I simply couldn’t put the book down, eagerly turning the pages faster and faster in my eagerness to get to the final denouement. The Wives is another masterclass in thriller writing from an author who really knows how to keep the reader glued to the page. I’m already looking forward to the next book.

My thanks to Boldwood Books, Valerie Keogh and Netgalley.
I absolutely hated each and every moment that I wasted on this book.
It was well written and honestly I can't think of how much more I would have enjoyed this had there been even one iota of suspense.
Suspense was sadly suspended.
I didn't even really finish the book. Why should I?
From the beginning we know who will die, and we know they deserved it. But really? Everyone pretty much sucked, and so far as I was concerned, they could have died too. Hell, it would have made the book better. The women were horrendous. I would not want them as my friend.
So, I cheated and looked at the ending. It was much as I expected.
I'm just a wee bit over these best friend/husbands/get aways.
I would love to say that I was bored silly, but I wasn't. But, I was over it by page 50. Take that as you will!
I won't be reading anything from this author again. She's not bad, she's just not willing to be bloodthirsty.

I would have loved to read The Wives but I couldn't get it to send to my kindle. I enjoy reading anything by Valerie Keogh.

OMG, this book, y'all! THIS BOOK! Another HOT HOT HOT read, written by Valerie Keogh. I have yet to see a book of hers I don't enjoy.
Gripping, it sucks you in right from the start. And then, let the whirlwind of the craziest twists happen - with some real book crazies.
So, yeah. Not to spoil it, but when the book blurb says it's "Perfect for fans of Frieda McFadden, J.A. Baker and Sue Watson"- I'm there 100%. If you enjoy any of those authors, you will enjoy this one too.

Well this one reminded me of the saying "with friends like this, who needs enemies?"

When Natasha met Daniel, she found someone dependable and steady. They got married quickly and settled into a comfortable routine that suited them both. Although they got along well, their relationship lacked a deep sense of love and loyalty, which affected how Natasha's friends connected with him.

Missing the closeness she shared with friends, she's thrilled when Daniel suggests a cruise for them and Natasha's friends and partners. When Natasha excitedly calls each of her friends, they all seem less than enthused by the invitation; almost as though they felt it was a chore to go.

As the cruise gets underway, secrets are shared and lives are ruined as the group's tangled web comes undone. Two won't return from their vacation. Who? And why?

This was thrilling and kept me hooked from beginning to end! Valerie Keogh has definitely secured her place on my "MUST READ" list! Don't wait to check this one out!

Phew! I am glad this is titled the Wives and not the Friends. When Natasha introduces Daniel into her friendship group she has no idea how dangerous this will turn out to be. Absolutely nail biting.

I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

The Wives by Valerie Keogh is an intriguing and largely engaging thriller that transports readers to the sun-soaked Zanzibari islands. Keogh’s vivid descriptions beautifully capture the atmosphere of the Indian Ocean tropics, drawing you into the lush, exotic landscape that sets the scene for the story. The setting alone makes this book worth picking up, especially for readers who appreciate a strong sense of place.

At first, I was drawn in by the characters and the complex friendships that had developed since Natasha’s marriage to Daniel. Keogh initially builds these relationships with subtlety, and it was fascinating to see how Natasha’s friendships evolved. However, as the plot unfolded, I felt the characters lacked genuine development. The sudden shifts in loyalties felt abrupt and, at times, a bit unrealistic, which detracted from the believability of their relationships.

The ending, too, left me slightly disappointed; it seemed rather convenient and too neatly resolved, which felt at odds with the suspense and intrigue that had been building throughout. While the story was certainly engaging and had its strengths, particularly in terms of setting and atmosphere, it didn’t quite reach the level of some of Keogh’s other works. Still, it was an enjoyable read overall, though not one of my favourites from her.