Leah is getting married for the second time. Eight years ago her first husband mysteriously disappeared. Now, on the weekend she is getting married she gets a note that says it's from her missing husband.

But that can't be right? He is missing, presumably dead.

Or is he?


I really enjoyed this book and I was hooked from the start. This was a really great read!

Highly recommend a tense chilling page turner.I was drawn in from first page till the shocking ending.Grab this book.#NetGalley #bookouture.

The First Husband is a thoroughly gripping read! You will suspect everyone but the whole story is fascinating. Well done!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

This started off well with a really sinister atmosphere and interesting backdrop. The characters were meeting for the wedding of Leah and Matt, to be held at the same place where Leah's first husband Callum, who was was also Matt's best friend, disappeared 8 years earlier. The story progresses with flashbacks to the days and hours before Callum disappeared and that worked well, moving between the past and the present. Then things start happening which suggest all is not as it seems and we find out about all of the interlinking relationships between Callum and the others.
I found it difficult to believe that the couple would want to get married in that place due to what had happened there, and the reasons given for that didn't work for me. The little twists within that added interest, but I think we needed more background to why Callum changed and became such a different person from the one that Leah married. I think that would have helped me to feel more empathy with Leah and Matt.
The most interesting part of the book for me was how easily Leah began to suspect all of those closest to her, although again that seemed to happen out of nowhere with no background. So sadly, I felt like there were many gaps in the book.

An ok read for me.
I just couldn't quite get my head around the storyline, some parts just seemed so unlikely.
A decent list of characters with some good twists but it just didn't do it for me.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

The First Husband by E. Carpenter, published by Bookouture, is a full length, stand alone, gripping thriller of its finest.
Masterfully crafted, this book gives all the feels, a raw and gritty, twisty till the last page. 5 stars.
Blurb: In two days’ time, I’m getting married again. It’s bittersweet, after everything that happened. But when I look at my cheeky son and his loving, handsome father, I know I’m doing the right thing in moving on.
Then a card comes.
Two days to go. I can’t wait to see you. I’ve missed you so much. All my love, Callum.
Callum was my first husband. He disappeared eight years ago, leaving only secrets and pain behind. He’s dead.
But as my friends and family gather for my big day – all the same people who were there the night Callum vanished – my fear grows. Things go horribly wrong with the wedding plans. And then an anonymous note threatens my son.
Is someone playing a cruel joke, or is Callum really back? I have two days to find out who’s doing this to me… and learn the truth about what happened all those years ago.
Because I will do anything to protect my son.

What a belter of a blurb it was perfectly executed with many twists and turns I really didn't see coming.

The plot was fast-paced and conundrum of a read with a cracking ending. I really like this writers writing style it was a real edge of your seat book!

Whilst reading I had a handful of theories how I thought it was going to end but I loved how Carpenter kept me guessing right up until the very last page!

I’d highly recommend this to everyone who loves a gripping thriller!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟stars

A gripping thriller! Kept me guessing - even though I had an inkling early on that turned out to be correct! Engaging through the end.

This will work for fans of Shari Lapena (which I am!). Excited to delve into Carpenter’s backlist!

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the eARC!

Slow compared to her last two. Leah is going to get married at the same place her first husband disappeared. As they all gather, she starts getting notes and threats signed Callum. As the book progresses, we see all these characters that would be tempted to kill Callum. However, his body was never found. Is he alive? Who is sending the notes? Just ok to me.

Leah has found happiness and is on the verge of getting remarried.

Her first husband Callum, disappeared years previously and she is getting on with life.

Then she recieves a letter...from Callum...

this intriguing read is filled with drama, there are twists and scares and I loved my reading time.

This was a great book, I am so thrilled I got a chance to be an arc reader for this one. It was so good, it kept me on the end of my seat and I did not see those twists coming!

I thought he was dead. I thought I was safe. Was I wrong? In two days’ time, I’m getting married again. It’s bittersweet, after everything that happened. But when I look at my cheeky son and his loving, handsome father, I know I’m doing the right thing in moving on. Then a card comes through the letterbox: Good book! This book had a bit of everything! It had good suspense, murder, mystery, intriguing, and some crazy twists and turns! The story was very interesting! I definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

This book will keep you wondering what is really going on. Leah is getting married for the second time. Her first husband Callum disappeared years earlier. Suddenly strange events begin to occur. What is really going on? Read and find out the surprise ending.

I enjoy stories where the past is interwoven with the present a lot and this is this kind of book. I always love to go back in time with the characters in order to unravel the things they have to deal with in the now.

I immediately felt for the leading lady and was happy to see how her life evolved from sadness to happiness. I felt like she deserved it so much to be happy again. She truly did, didn't she?

I liked the intrigues and I had the impression I, for once, had found the same wavelength the author did. Was I right in believing this or was i fooled for the umpteenth time? 

I am happy to say I indeed surfed on the same wave, but I did not quite reach the beach. I had a little surprise on the way there. ;)

A great story. I had a whale of a time reading it. 5 stars

Thank you