A good read, a well developed story with interesting characters which kept me involved with the story. Not an edge of seat thriller but I don't think it was supposed to be.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin UK for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

My Lovely Wife has the most intriguing opening chapter I have read in a while. But my grin was short-lived as the remainder of the book didn’t entertain just as much.
Millicent and her husband have an unusual game going on here- she plans, he does the research and she carries out the deed. They don’t always keep one another fully briefed- and that’s when it starts to come unstuck. Wife remains serene but husband starts to worry about the unforeseen repercussions of their activities.
Maybe because I couldn’t quite decide what level to read this at; pure entertainment, or something more with a quirky message, that the balance appeared off and I stopped seeing the point.
I really wanted to like this one. The Tobias thing tickled me but it wasn’t quite enough.
With thanks to Netgalley and Penguin UK Michael Joseph

Unexpected and unusual. Too detailed a review will spoil it for you.
Read and enjoy.
The narrator is married to Millicent and they have two lovely successful children in their lovely successful home...but they also have a very interesting hobby which they need to keep secret.
You find you are beginning to sympathise with the anti-hero as his perfectly constructed serial killing plans impact on his family life and everything falls apart.
I read this in one sitting.
The last line is a real stinger.

Wow, wow and wow again. If you are a fan of Gone Girl you will love this book!

This follows the story of Millicent and her husband. They are just a regular couple; he is a tennis coach and she is an estate agent. They have two kids and ambitions to better their situation. And they have a huge secret - they love getting away with murder....literally.

This is a hard review to write as I really don't want to spoil the story but I can promise that it will grab you by the throat and keep you reading in the small hours of the morning. It is fabulous, dark, twisty, terrifying and truly alarming that murder can hide in plain sight.

Do yourself a massive favour and read this book....right now.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very well written book with excellent reviews but I really didn't like it. Maybe it's because it is written by the perpetrator rather than a victim or law enforcement and so there is an unnerving callousness to it but I don't think so; in fiction that can work very well and draw you in rather than alienate you. I could have put this book down, not finished it, and felt no regret at doing so.

No one in the book is likeable, not necessarily a bad thing, but I didn't feel engaged. The back stories of the two main characters didn't flesh them out, give perspective or personality; I dont think I was supposed to like them but I had no interest in what happened to them and quite frankly they deserved each other.

There are however a couple of things which were well done. The way all actions have a reaction was shown in how one of the children was traumatised by what was going on around her even though she had no idea how close to the action she actually was. If anyone had a shred of humanity in them it was the daughter who definitely deserved better. There were also two friends of the family unwittingly ensnared who did evoke some sympathy.

Those two things unfortunately aren't enough to save this book and the final chapter suspended all reality, it just wouldn't happen that way. Authorities the world over have a duty of care, except, it seems in Hidden Oaks.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review but unfortunately can't recommend it at all.

The claims that were made about this book were met. I was hooked after the first chapter and needed to know how the story would end.

Millicent and her husband have been married for fifteen years. They have two kids, live in a gated community in Florida and have the usual family problems: work, appointments, school problems, sick days, little money, boring love life.

Through the course of the story, the unnamed husband tells us all about the couple's past and present, including how they ended up spicing up their love life by killing women and getting away with it.

I won't tell more about the story, since I don't want to spoil it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 ok stars.

This had a good premise, two twisted characters who aren’t what they seem.

However it lacked a spark for me so it felt like it plodded along and with characters you didn’t like, it was hard to engage in the story.

There was no big reveal, in fact it all felt a little far fetched.

On a positive note, I thought the last quarter of the book really picked up, it was like a different author had written the end quarter; it had pace and clever writing.

Overall it showed promise toward the end so I would try another by the author.

Brilliant thriller that hooks you in early on.

Hard to review without giving anything away but would recommend. A thriller about a family and their two children

The ending wrapped up a bit too quickly but answered all loose ends

Without a doubt this is a story that will grab you right from the very first page!

So we get to meet a seemingly normal married couple, of which within moments of starting the book, we very soon realise that this particular married couple are far from normal. Told from the point of view from the husband, it really does make for some compulsive reading.

This is one of those reviews that is hard to know just how much I should divulge. The blurb doesn’t really give to much away and I think the less you know about this book the better. I think the main thing you need to know is that if you love a twisted read, then they really don’t come much more twisted than this one.

My Lovely Wife is a dark, mesmerising and one hell of a twisted read. If like me you love a good twist, you really will be in your element as they just keep coming. Always when you least expect them. Really hard to believe that this is a debut author as it is written with such confidence. Can not wait to see more from the author.

Wow, what a book, thanks Netgalley! I was drawn in by the promise that I would be hooked from the first page, and I certainly was.
A seemingly normal couple live in an upper class area called High Oaks, with two children and normal jobs. But they hide a secret - they stalk, capture and torture women for fun. They find it sexy. They feel like they can have it all, until one day the media catches on and it’s a game of cat and mouse which hits home harder than they would have ever realised.
I couldn’t put this book down. It’s excellently written and the story is told just perfectly, with a mix of horror and family life. It’s fiction but it’s disturbing what goes on in people’s minds and it could possibly be happening as we speak. Certainly recommended reading

I wasn't sure about this book when I first started it but as I read on I couldn't put it down. It was a riveting read, very dark but I was compelled to read to the end. Plenty twists and turns right to the very last page. Excellent.

This was a very entertaining read for me , and kept me turning the pages well into the night . The story is narrated by Milicents husband , a tennis coach at an upmarket country club , she is an estate agent .They have two teenage kids and live an ordinary well ordered life .............well apart from the fact they are a pair of serial killers . quite an original concept , well written and pacey . Loved it and didn't see the twist coming

This is a murder story with a difference, a little tongue in cheek and very little about the police because we know all along who has done what.
Narrated in the first person, by the unnamed husband of a fifteen year marriage, it draws you right in. On the surface they are a happy couple with two lovely children. He is a tennis coach, she is an upmarket estate agent. Money is a little tight but nothing they can’t manage. They all eat their dinner together and seem like a tight family unit. Only the parents have a big secret, one they think they are clever enough to keep - but are they?
I enjoyed this original take on a murder mystery, give it a go if you like this genre - plenty to keep you guessing right to the end.

Thank you, Penguin Michael Joseph, for a copy My Lovely wife by Samantha Downing. I have seen a lot of 5 stars reviews for this book. I had to see what this book was all about.
Family, husband and wife and two kids. Husband a Tennis coach and wife an Estate agent. They are like any other family until you find out that they are both serial killers. Son is blackmailing the father, he goes out at night and son thinks he is having an affair. And the daughter is having mental health problems and keeps a knife underneath her pillow. Husband and Wife Millicent have date nights where they plan who to kidnap and kill next.
I say this book is not a bad book but, it just wasn’t for me. I found it kind of slow at the beginning and I just wanted more but it didn’t deliver. I wanted to see more of Millicent’s perspective, but it was just the narrator and It amazed me that they thought they could hoodwink the police, that their killings where from a serial killer called Owen after a few letters sent to the police. I did like the ending though. I didn’t expect the twist at the end.

I really enjoyed this book and found it creepy yet intriguing.
The big plot twist caught me completely off guard and encouraged me to race towards the finish. I felt the ending was wrapped up a little too quickly however.
4 stars,
Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lust, mistrust murder and a cheated wife all wrapped up in this clever thriller where there's fault and flaws with the main characters. Brilliant story and maybe cautionary tale!

I loved this book.
The plot was beyond dark and was extremely twisted. It flowed well and was easy to read. There was a surprise twist towards the end which was completely unexpected. Refreshingly different and well executed, containing murder and betrayal, obsession and distrust.
The main characters were well thought out and extremely unusual, yet it ia hard to say more without giving away the plot.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it difficult to put down. If you're looking for something dark and different this is definitely for you.

Let’s start with the good. The writing is good, really good! And although the story lacked any real surprises or twists, the dark, macabre nature of the book, with its twisted and suspenseful undercurrents definitely make it an enjoyable read.

However, and maybe I am being old school, or maybe a little to contemporary, but normally we are at least given one protagonist that we either like, or can side with. Or at the very least, when presented with a darker character, we can still feel a connection to a part of the character. From the offset in this book though I pretty much despised all the characters. From the weak and dependent husband, to the controlling, manipulative, and psychotic wife. Even the children rubbed me up the wrong way, although it can be argued that my opinion of them warmed up as the story progressed.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin UK for a review copy.

Cracking debut! A deliciously dark and disturbing, different from the norm’ psychological thriller with some tasty twists thrown in. It’s true we don’t really find out why but I guess there isn’t always a reason and I thought the end was very fitting. I don’t want to give anything away so I recommend you just read and enjoy. I look forward to more from this author.

The idea of this book is an original one. The narrator (who is never named) and his wife Millicent are serial killers. They are also parents to 2 teenaged children. When they try to cover their tracks by blaming someone from the past, their plan backfires, and starts to have adverse effects on their friends and family. I was really looking forward to how this story was going to end, but I have to say I was disappointed. I found the ending very far fetched and unsatisfactory. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
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