This was a good thriller where you cannot trust anyone and probably won't like anyone. I liked the audio!

It captured my attention the entire time. It did start out slow, but it got so much better. Will read more by this author in the future!

This was a “meh” thriller in my opinion. The concept had me hooked. But the execution was lacking. The ending felt like too much of a stretch for me.

What the Wife Knew by Darby Kane is a dark psychological thriller packed with twists and turns that kept me hooked from start to finish. The story masterfully weaves an intricate web of suspense, with side plots that kept me guessing at every turn.

The pacing was fast, and the characters—many of whom you’ll love to hate—added layers to the gripping narrative. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, the final twist completely blindsided me. I truly didn’t see it coming!

Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this ARC.

A dark psychological thriller, with morally gray characters, fast-paced, suspenseful and addictive. The plot was brilliant and I loved that it kept me guessing.
It was bingeable, compelling and impossible to put down. This is my second book from this author and I will definitely need to read more from her.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperAudio for this complimentary audiobook!

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗞𝗻𝗲𝘄 released December 10, 2024.

What the Wife Knew by Darby Kane is a twisty domestic thriller with plenty of drama and a compelling premise. The audiobook’s narration is engaging and brings the characters to life, making it an easy listen. As the enigmatic and resourceful second wife, Addison is intriguing, and her calculated plan to expose Dr. Richmond Dougherty’s dark side adds suspense.

The story thrives on tension, especially given the small-town hostility, law enforcement pressure, and increasingly menacing threats against Addison. Kane does a good job of keeping the reader guessing, and Richmond’s legacy unraveling is peppered with enough twists to maintain interest.

However, the book falters in character development. Addison’s motives and backstory could have been explored more deeply to make her actions feel justified and her character more relatable. Similarly, the other key players, like Kathryn and Richmond’s children, often feel like stock characters, which lessens the emotional stakes. The plot, while entertaining, occasionally stretches believability, and the ending feels rushed, leaving some threads unresolved.

Overall, What the Wife Knew is an entertaining thriller with enough suspense to keep listeners engaged. However, it doesn’t quite deliver the depth or originality needed to stand out in the genre. It is a solid choice for fans of fast-paced domestic dramas, but not a must-listen.

I was able to get an early read thanks to Netgally. I enjoyed Pretty Little Wife, so I was excited to get this. I liked all the character involvement and the revenge thriller part. That is not to say that I liked many of the characters other than Addison. It is your classic who-dunnit but had you guessing to the end.

There were quite a bit of random parts that didn’t feel necessary to the story line. And while I enjoy twists in my thriller and this one has many that are good, I could have done without the last twist completely. 😒

This was a weird and interesting story. The intersections of the various story lines made this a twisty thriller. I was not able to guess the ending and the reveal was shocking. Looking forward to reading more of Darby Kane's work in the future.

Helen Laser and Andrew Eiden did a great job narrating this novel. I loved being able to easily distinguish who was speaking.

This was my first novel by Darby Kane, and will not be the last! "What the Wife Knew" is a domestic thriller about a middle-aged woman whose husband mysteriously dies only months after their marriage, sparking accusations from both the new and old wife as to who killed him.

Addison, the new Mrs. Richmond Dougherty, hated her new husband, but she married him on a mission for revenge and she knew how to play the game...until Dr. Dougherty, renowned pediatric surgeon, falls down the stairs and dies. Someone beat her to his death, but who? Kathryn, Richmond's ex-wife and longtime love, goes out of her way to make sure everyone knows Addison is the number one suspect, but Addison has her own reasons to suspect Kathryn...and maybe even his two teenage children? Or his lawyer? Or his medical partner? Addison is determined to finish her mission of destroying Dr. Richmond Dougherty's carefully built reputation and bring him down, dead or alive, but she starts receiving threats, Addison begins to think there is more at play than even SHE knew, and her carefully orchestrated plan may be blown out of the water.

The audiobook was so well done, the narrators further enhanced the characters and their snarky tones with one another, and listening to Addison's inner dialogue was so much fun. As for the story itself, my only critique is that I wish the characters backstories had been built up a little more as the story progressed. There were a lot of twists and suspense, but sometimes I felt like I was a step behind, especially with the past and present chapters going back and forth to various places. I won't spoil the ending, but it was a little out there to me.

Thank you to HarperAdult Audio and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this audiobook!

This domestic suspense thriller was twisty and full of terrible characters who each have dark secrets. No one is innocent in this book and while I thought it was good on audio, this rich people behaving badly and fighting over money story just wasn't for me. A little too dark with not enough redeeming parts for my personal tastes. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

The narrators were fantastic and stayed in character the entire book. I never was taken out of the story because of a mispronounced word or something feeling off. I enjoyed this book and couldn’t wait to listen to it every time I got the chance. I will definitely be recommending it and adding it to our library for patrons.

This one had a fairly quick pace, lots of twists and turns, and some truly diabolical characters. The narrator of the audio version did a great job of holding my attention. Unfortunately I had a few difficulties with this one. First--the main female character was completely unlikeable, and nothing revealed about her past along the way helped change that. I just couldn't identify with her at all. Second--the repetitive chapter headings of "Her" for had me wondering WHY???, but finally about half way through there was (finally!) a chapter from "his" perspective. Third--the alternating POVS followed no pattern whatsoever. Instead they jumped around in the past like a runaway pogo stick. One of the "past" chapters might talk about day 6 of the marriage, the next one might skip forward to day 54, and the next back to day 20 or whenever--interspersed with several present day narratives (of varying numbers)--and it felt like I was getting whiplash.

Loved the first part of this one. The reader is thrown right in the middle of all the drama. I was very invested into finding out what is behind this wife and her motives, even though none of the characters were likeable. It's all very fast paced, so it really held my attention.

And then about halfway through, things go off the rails and we veer over into too many shock value things being thrown into the mix. It slows down, but there are too many twists and after the first few, I was over it. Too far out there, unrelatable, unbelievable and honestly, I was just ready for it to be over.

Thanks to HarperAudio and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I may need to take a break from thrillers for awhile. I might not have been in the right headspace for this book. It had potential, but fell a little flat for me: it feels like every other book I have read lately, with the same kind of twists thrown in. I wasnt attached to any of the characters, therefore I didn’t really care what happened. 2 1/2 ⭐️ rounded up.

Darby Kane's previous release was a miss for me so I was a bit nervous about What The Wife Knew. I'm happy to say that this one was a hit! This is a fast paced domestic thriller full of morally gray characters and twists galore! I was hooked from start to finish! I paired the ebook and audio and the narration from Helen Laser and Andrew Elden was very well done.

initial thoughts: the premise of this was intriguing and it did start off strong. i really enjoyed Addison's POV and her revenge plot. then, another POV was added in (Richmond's) and things just fell off for me at that point. i didn't like any of the characters and the ending was unbelievable.

a big thanks to NetGalley & William Morrow for the ARC. while i was disappointed in the ending of this story, it did keep me entertained during my daily dog walks & chores around the house. the narrator was great!

Starting off in the thick of things, we realize the narrator, Addison, does not like her husband, who just turned up dead. It looks like Addison’s the killer, but she insists she isn’t and is being framed. We learn that this is an unconventional marriage, formed on the basis of blackmail. Their relationship is strange and strained. Plus there is a plethora of background drama that comes to light further down the line. Everyone loved Addison’s husband, Richmond, and even considered him a hero but is this the truth?

Truth and falsehoods are a theme within this novel, and I was never really sure if the narrator was reliable. There were lots of characters with full stories of their own, and people’s motivations matched their character and I could understand why they acted the way they chose to.

I listened to the audiobook, where there were two narrators, one for the “Her” chapters and one for the “Him” chapters. A lot of information was thrown at the listener, and I misunderstood a major plot point, so a huge reveal was already what I had in my head since I wasn’t doing a good job of clearly following the novel. There were enough other unpredictable and shocking scenes to keep me interested though. Overall, I enjoyed this audiobook!

This book was well done, the characters were well thought out and the narrators did a wonderful job. The story has some unexpected twists that make you think. This book was a fun and wild ride.

Things are not what they seem in this marriage and readers will be pulled in as they try to figure it out. The characters are keeping secrets and as the danger for the widow escalates it left me wondering who could be trusted. Readers that are fans of twisty thrillers should add this to their tbr.

The narrators do a good job giving the characters a voice and bringing the story to life.

A twisty domestic thriller about a wife whose world is turned upside down as she confronts a chilling reality: Someone killed her husband & it was supposed to be her to do it. 👀 The story had a strong start and kept me engaged throughout. While I enjoyed some of the twists, the ending fell flat. I was hoping for a truly shocking finale, but it was a bit too much.