My Lovely Wife

2.5

plot twists trop tirés par les cheveux, & globally unrealistic plot (you're telling me police found noooothing wrong with him, even despite the fact that he went around pretending he was deaf ? like is that not fishy ??)? jsp it just seems too easy & unsatisfying

also the fact that she left absolutely no clues seems a bit much, like the whole thing doesn't make a lot of sense

that last sentence doesn't seem right with me too, i know the author was tryna make us have a

This book took me a while to really get into. I remember being 2/3 done with the book and thinking, “okay this is interesting and all, but when is it gonna pick up?”

That last third of the book did a pretty good job at picking things up. It went by pretty quick, which is good or bad depending on how you see it, but I started getting sucked in. I'm pretty pleased with the ending and I got to say, it did make me think and leave me wondering.

This was a big meh.

I really liked the writing style. The main character's voice was fantastic. Dry. Honest. Blunt.

The story itself ended extremely quickly. Lots of build up for a very quick release.

Would have been interested to see a story from Millicent's POV. Won't elaborate as to prevent spoilers, but if you read thrillers regularly you will see the twist miles away.

★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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You've been married for a decade and a half, the kids are in high school, you're pretty established in your careers, middle age is around the corner – how do you keep the spark in your marriage alive (or reignite it)? There are dozens – probably hundreds – of suggestions out there, but probably none quite so . . . homicidal? The couple at the center of My Lovely Wife murders women – an idea so out there, I can't imagine there's enough wine in the world to get Kathy Lee and Hoda to promote.

They pick the victims together, he goes out and gets the women into a vulnerable situation and then she takes over while he spends time with the kids. This is an over-simplification, but not by much. This joint-project does seem to bring them together, giving them a common goal, something to talk about – it even seems to rekindle the romance. Sometimes their interaction is pretty sweet – sometimes, it's a little sad. But at the core, you can see these two featuring in a very different kind of novel if only they had a different . . . activity to bond over.

Meanwhile, their son is acting defiant toward his father's authority and is sneaking around with a girl. Their daughter is becoming more and more anxious – a media-induced anxiety disorder of some sort. While they're dealing with the difficulties of parenting adolescents, they're focused on their next target and evading the police. You have to feel for them as parents, really. They're doing everything they should and you just can't tell if the children will respond the way they hope. It's a clear sign of their dedication to each other that they keep going.

It's a great premise, really – and that alone is going to earn it some accolades. Downing does a pretty good job delivering on the promise of it, too. But after the original “What??” moment (which wasn't that much of a surprise if you've read the blurb, but was still skillfully executed), I waited a long time to truly get hooked by this story. I kept feeling like I was alllllllllmost hooked, but I never got past the mildly curious level. I kept waiting for the hook, expecting it, wanting it – but it just didn't come. Until some time in the last fifth of the book – and then even though I'd seen two of the big reveals coming, I hadn't seen the reasoning behind the most important one. Also, Downing absolutely nailed the climactic portions of this book – all the dominoes she'd spent the whole novel setting up came down just as designed and were absolutely riveting to watch.

I want to complain about how long it took for me to really get hooked, to get invested in the outcome of the book – and I guess I am – but it was all worth it. I do think it's dangerous to hope that an audience will stick without you that long – but seeing the design and how she set it all up, I just don't know how to quibble that much. Because the pay off was just that well done.

This isn't your typical story about killers – it's not over the top and funny, it's not dark and moody, it feels like a book about a fairly stable couple living in the nice part of Atlanta. Which is what the book is, but this couple has some pretty horrible secrets to explore. While it didn't click for me until the very end, I can easily see where many people are going to love this book. Downing is a writer to watch, and I know I'll be eagerly waiting for whatever comes next.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for this post – thanks to both for this, but it did not affect the substance of this post beyond giving me something upon which to opine.

First, let me say that this is a thriller that kept me turning the pages. The story is compelling and drew me in from the start. That being said, much of the plot and actions of the characters seemed to me to be unrealistic. Thus, if you are looking for a tightly woven plot and believability, you might not enjoy this book. If you are willing to just go along for a crazy ride, though, this is an enjoyable read.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a digital advanced review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

As most of you know, if you read my book reviews, I watch a lot of booktube. Well, many booktubers have mentioned My Lovely Wife as a great domestic thriller and since that is my favorite genre, I knew I had to give this book a try. And I am so glad I did because I loved it! It was great from beginning to end and I will be recommending it to everyone from now on.

The story itself is about a married couple who get bored in their mundane lives and decide to find a woman to kill together and what transpires after that. It wasn't like any plot I've ever come across in any thriller so far and I loved it. Downing is also masterful at pulling you into the story and not letting you out until you have finished the whole book. The only reason I didn't give this book five stars is because most of the excitement took place in the end of the book and for majority of it the pacing was a bit slower than I'd prefer and nothing major happened. Don't get me wrong, I still found that part of the book exciting enough to keep reading, it just wasn't as fast paced there as I would have liked. Otherwise, the plot was terrific.

Further on, the characterization was wonderfully done. We really got a great look into all of the characters, even the couple's kids. Anyone with whom the main character had any kind of relationship with was portrayed in some detail to us because we got to see into his mind and what he himself made of the relationship and how he saw this person and so forth. I love seeing the story from the main character's eyes and this book did not disappoint on that front. I will be picking up the other works by Samantha Downing, that is for sure.

Finally, the writing style was my absolute favorite. It was precise and clear and to the point. It got the scene across beautifully and I pictured the story in my mind as I was reading it without any problems whatsoever. I hate fluff in my writing styles and so this was a breath of fresh air. The writing didn't take away from the action packed story, only added something to it by making it even more exhilarating

In conclusion, this book has definitely made it into my list of favorite thrillers. I would recommend it to anyone and it delivered in almost every single aspect, except that part of the book moved a little slower than I would have wanted it to. Otherwise it was a terrific read and another great book I have finally gotten around to reading in 2021!.

Meh. The premise sounded interesting- a serial killer couple! But unfortunately it fell pretty flat for me. I know it's first person, but even so it was very “tell” no “show.” It was also super drawn out in non important ways, and things that felt like it should have been a bigger revelation were a sentence and never revisited. I did finish it though, and pretty quickly, so 2.5 stars.

Millicent and her husband have two children and live in the suburb. They seem to be a normal family like everyone else in the neighborhood. They get very bored in their fifteen year old marriage, which is very dysfunctional. They want to thrill their marriage up and they are hiding very dark secrets to keep their marriage alive.
This debut novel is a twisted thriller, the plot is clever and well-constructed with touches of dark humour along the way.