HOLY MOLY. This is unlike any other thriller I have read and I absolutely DEVOURED it. Sometimes too chilling to read at bedtime, you will be breathless until the last page. Recommend!

I read Gone Girl quite a few years ago. I did not like Gone Girl per se as all the characters were horrible people with the exception of Nick's sister Margot. But even if I did not like Gone Girl, I could appreciate it as a very clever thriller. Exhibit Alexandra is clearly aiming to be a work in a similar vein without having the same innovative qualities. The beginning did not grab my attention and I did not connect with the characters and the ending did not improve matters. Alas, this was not the book for me. I really need to stop requesting thrillers!

I will keep my review private since it was not more positive.

This was brilliant, had me on the edge of my seat and guessing all the way! Who do you believe. Who’s the baddie? Oh my god it’s fabulous!

An unusual book for me, in that I didn't guess the twist, and that is very rare indeed.
My problem with the book is that, having quite liked the character, after the twist I really loathed her, which became a quite awkward feeling. I guess it is well written to provoke such a reaction from me, but I think that there are people like that, so maybe not so far fetched.
However, it is well written and as I said, the twist is unusual, and I did not expect it. There was a very clever element to the twist, in the location and the alteration of everything which the reader has been thinking, which I did appreciate.

I can usually tell from page one if I'm going to enjoy a book. Unfortunately, this one hadn't got my attention much further in. It's rare for me not to finish a book but I just couldn't get my head into all the extra, unnecessary, words or descriptions that were just there to fill the page. I'm sorry, but this just wasn't my cup of tea.

This book garnered mixed reviews so I was interested to read it. I devoured it in a day or two, and found it enjoyable enough. Sometimes the flashbacks seemed somewhat pointless as though they didn't contribute to the plot really, but I guess it helped build a picture of who Alexandra was before she disappeared..

This novel is interesting in that it gives the missing person, Alexandra, a voice. The story flits between how Alexandra imagines Marc is doing, to what Alexandra is going through. The writing is somewhat tricks-y, which displeased some readers, but I didn't mind this.

I loved the themes that this book touches - feminism, ethics in art, the complexities of being a mother with ambition, and more. It made for a very interesting read, and I learnt a lot about the art world.

The novel was somewhat vulgar at times which took away from the reading experience for me. Alexandra is also something of an antihero in that she's not very likable at all, but it makes for an interesting read as she is a very different narrator to the norm.

I would recommend this book for readers of thriller who are looking for something a bit different.

An original concept that works well. Could be slightly confusing at times, but on the whole a good read.

Alexandra has gone missing and her husband is desperate to find her. The police think shes dead but Marc doesn't and he's right, she isn't. But where is she and why isn't she at home with her family.

This was an interesting story, its told from Alex's point of view which adds a unique depth to the story as much of it is seen from Marc's view but it's her telling the story. The plot is complex and builds to an interesting showdown but I wanted to know more about what happened to Marc and his girls after everything. The story has some interesting twists, I figured out the main one as the story developed. It raises some interesting questions to the reader. A good thriller.

Hard to give full review without spoilers!

I can understand why people like the 'concept' of this book. However, I struggled to get past just how much I disliked the main character. Alexandra is one of the most selfish characters I have ever read... as a mother I find her totally hideous.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I read this in one sitting.
Not because I was smitten with it, but because I hate giving up, so if I put it down I just knew I’d not pick it up again!

The first half of the book was slow, tedious and like walking in thick goey glue. It stuck to my feet making it harder to plough on, but......
There is also some worthy bits in this book that kept me going. So there must have been ‘something’ that kept me hanging on.

This book I read as part of my Backlist challenge. I’ve not looked if she has another book out. I’d like to give her one more try.

This was a suspenseful, intriguing and well written thriller. I particularly enjoyed the vivid descriptions of installation art creations and the underlying analysis of what gives a person an identity, the importance of it and how far someone may go to keep it. It's also quite twisty and mysterious, so a book that makes for compelling reading!

This was the first book I've read from this author and I enjoyed it very much. It was very well written and the characters were well thought out.

If you’re looking for a thriller with a difference, one that raises so many questions, making it ripe for discussion, then it’s worth taking a punt on His Perfect Wife.

I really admire Natasha Bell for approaching the story in the way she does. It’s not easy to maintain the mystery, especially when the missing woman is our narrator. Thankfully, we know early on that this is not one of those stories narrated by a dead woman. Alexandra is very much alive. But while she has access to some information, such as the recording of her husband reporting her missing, she can’t know how everything plays out at home.

Instead, Alexandra gives us her re-imagining of what happens and how people behave because she believes that she knows her family and friends well enough to do this. I found it fascinating that she would think this, and arrogant of her. I mean, even when you know someone intimately, can you ever predict their reaction or behaviour in response to a shocking event like this? I’m not convinced you can.

That said, it becomes all too easy to take Alexandra’s version of events as what might have happened while she’s missing. She makes it sound credible. Not that she isn’t challenged by her captor, she is; he does call her on some of her interpretations. But I have to confess to being distracted by trying to work out where she was and who was holding her. Which when revealed, only further jolted my perspective.

His Perfect Wife is a novel all about perspective, whether it be the moral stance we take or when considering identity. Alexandra’s disappearance and the police questioning force Marc to look more closely at his marriage. By sharing flashbacks to when they met and earlier stages in their relationship, Alexandra gives us what looks to be a more rounded view of their marriage. We see what she gave up to be with him and how different her life in York is from that earlier, freer and more creative life in the States.

To help shape our perspective, Natasha Bell includes a series of letters in the novel from Amelia Heldt, Alexandra’s former roommate in the States from when she was studying on an MFA programme. These talk about the art installations and performance art she’s interested in creating, where we see how she wants to push the boundaries between art and everyday life, together with what’s piqued her interest in New York or in Alexandra’s life. In addition to this, we also have Alexandra’s own draft paper on a theory surrounding Tony Soprano from the hit show The Sopranos which indicates where her thinking on this lies.

The letters offer up another side to Alexandra’s life and the concerns or preoccupations she’d share with a friend, but not her husband. Again, it challenges how well she knows him, when it looks as if she kept these thoughts from Marc yet shared them with someone other than him. They did also help point me in the direction His Perfect Wife was leading. I don’t see it as a bad thing that I worked out what was going on before it’s finally revealed. I could feel yet more questions firing off in my head and kept reading in order to see how it would all play out in the end.

His Perfect Wife aka Exhibit Alexandra is a refreshingly different and thought-provoking thriller. I’d recommend giving it a go, and then let’s go to some cafe in a gallery and talk about it!

A shocking deception that is cruel and heartless for the sake of ‘art’. You can’t believe anyone could get away with this, so it is all the more shocking to discover it is based in truth - or is it? This book left me stunned for a while after reading it, not actually sure what my reaction to it was..... perhaps the whole point of a controversial artist.

OMG! I loved this book, it was so cleverly and expertly crafted it actually reignited my love for books after having read a few too many recently and getting a bit jaded. You will never for tell the twist in this tale; about half way through this tragic tale that engulfs the family a sinister twist just comes from leftfield. If you buy just one book this month, do yourself a favour and get this one !!

An interesting premise, and ultimately a worthwhile read. However, I did find the story lacked pace at times.

Alex and Marc are likable enough characters, but I think I'd have enjoyed it more if Alex had been a little less self congratulatory.

This book was not what I expected
Found it a bit hard going at times
Think the idea of the storyline interesting and different, but I guessed quite quick what the outcome would be.

Thank you netgalley, Natasha Bell and Penguin for allowing me to read and review this book.

Exhibit Alexandra is a psychological drama about a wife and mother, respected university lecturer who goes missing one day. Told from the viewpoint of the wife, Alexandra this is a slow burn of a novel that will appeal to readers who like plenty of sub text in their novels. I found it quite a difficult read due to the slow pace.

I love books about missing persons but find them a little predictable. This one certainly wasn't that! Exhibit Alexandra is written from the perspective of Alexandra, a wife and mother who vanishes without notice. She sees the effect of her disappearance on her loved ones and how things take their toll on husband Marc. I must say that I found the change of timelines confusing but the plot was strong and cleverly thought out.

As told by herself a story about Alexandra a wife and mother of young daughters who one day doesn’t come home after leaving work. . The husband reports her missing and the police find her belongings and a large amount of blood by the local river. She relates as to how the family copes over the course of a year by which time with no leads the case is scaled down. Interspersed she relates how she first met her husband and of their marriage and highlights of their life together up until the day she disappears. She also gives snippets of her life imprisoned in a room and her battle of wills with her jailer. Over this time she receives long letters from her friend Amelia in NY, an artist who misses her and longs for her to join her. Never giving up hope her husband finally find clues that causes him to decide that the key is to find Amelia but she too is a shadowy person who is well hidden. When he does eventually find Amelia it becomes clear that the question is not where Alexandra is but who is she. There are plenty of clues along the way, not least of which is the title. The reader is left with a question, does the infliction of suffering to two girls bereft of a mother at a tender age that will scare them for life to enable the evolution of creative art justified? As history shows the suffering caused in the name of some ideology long outlasts the any benefit. While it is also know that artists very often treat their personal relationships rather off handily, fortunately Jekyll and Hyde personalities are rare as most women are adroit in handling many different roles in their life for which we must be thankful.