A read that pulls you in and makes you turn the page. The characters are unpleasant and the story is disturbing. If you like thrillers, this book is for you. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me review this book.

Coming off the back of some heavier literary fiction, I was ready to again delve into a page-turning thriller.

This is an easy read and did keep me turning the pages, essentially to confirm what I suspected to be the case in several respects.

I found it to be less a cross between Dexter and Mr and Mrs Smith and found it closer to Netflix’s You. The unnamed male narrator (we only ever get his pseudonyms) we find out early on is finding women to kill with his wife and try and keep this “other” life hidden from neighbours and their kids.

So, why not 5 stars? First, what was never explained was WHY the husband and Millicent were on this killing spree. That was incredibly frustrating. Second, I felt I could see the “plot twists” coming a mile off. Third, unlike Tom Ripley, Dr Jekyll or even Dracula, the main characters didn’t have enough charm for me to want them to get away with anything.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and Samantha Downing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book really trying in the beginning, but I persevered. Very unusual story line and hard to discuss without giving away spoilers.
I did not like the two main characters Tobias and Millicent, who were very disturbing people and not normal in every sense of the word. Full of dark thoughts, horror, murder.
Full of twists and turns and from the title, it was not what I expected and it was not for me but hey this book will appeal to someone. Many thanks to Penguin UK and Netgalley for this ARC.

I almost gave up reading this in the early chapters because it was rather unpleasant, but then I read some reviews which made me continue, although I did skim quite a lot, as it was boring and repetitive in the middle. The twists were not too difficult to guess and the ending was not much of a shock. The main characters are thoroughly nasty and the whole thing was really not what I want to read.

I was very kindly offered an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. I have given My Lovely Wife 4 stars.

Wow! When I was offered the chance to read Samantha Downing's debut thriller, I had no clue what to expect. Little did I know that I was about to be thrust into the shockingly dysfunctional marriage between Millicent and "Tobias".
Boy meets girl and they fall hopelessly in love. They marry and settle into a "normal" suburban life but their "extramarital" activities leave a lot to be desired. My Lovely Wife is edgy, dark and deeply disturbing and will leave you looking at your neighbours in different way. Who knows what is going on behind closed doors?

I couldn't put this story down. It was so messed up -Completely unputdownable!

I was totally engrossed in this sick and twisted story from the very first page, Samantha Downing has a very addictive writing style, it's smooth and moves along nicely, told from one POV, so there is no jumping around.
It was full of suspense and I found myself really enjoying, even after I had guessed the main plot twist I still found myself turning the pages greedily to see what happened. However, there was still plenty of twists to keep things interesting.

Definitely a story for those who love a psychological thriller with an edge.

A twisted tale about a perfectly normal happy couple with a lovely house and two children, on the face of it at least!!! CJ Tudor said it perfectly "Dextor meets Gone Girl". This is a hard book to review as it would be too easy to give away the plot and ruin it for others, its face paced and full of twists, some you will definitely not see coming, I swallowed this book whole, even hiding in the toilet away from the kids for a bit of peace to read alone! Will definitely be watching out for more from Ms. Downing if this one is anything to go by.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Firstly I’d like to thank Penguin UK for the ARC of this novel. Also thanks to NetGalley for facilitating. And of course thank you to Samantha Downing for a most unique read!

So, as usual there will be no spoilers in this book review!

This is a book like no other that I’ve read. Normally in serial killer books you might get a chapter or two written from the perspective of the killer and it’ll be anonymous. Not this book. The victims don’t get a say. They don’t get a voice. This is all written from the perspective of a twisted mind and it stands apart because of this.

Usually books where the synopsis talks about dark secrets and twists... well usually you can see them coming or at least have an inkling as to what is going to be revealed - but not here! I was reading it thinking that it hadn’t “gripped” me because I felt no connection or common ground with the main characters, and yet, I couldn’t stop reading - especially as the story gathered pace. But it wasn’t in the normal sense of “oh god I have to see what happens next”, it was “what on earth is going on here? This is macabre... I’ll read a little further and find out” and then the little further you read is even more twisted and leaves more and more questions.

I found it fascinating and intriguing... it is absolutely the darkest book I’ve ever read. That would be the trophy I’d hand out to this author - I have read A LOT of books. A lot of dark books, serial killer books, thrillers, horrors... whatever. But never read anything like this before. This takes the prize as the darkest book which elicited the highest levels of morbid curiosity I’ve ever felt in my life! Bravo!

A good debut novel from Samantha Downing. We are introduced to the perfect couple, living in a nice house with their 2 children. However, this couple have a very dark and disturbing secret which will send chills down your spine. I don't want to say too much about the plot as a lot has already been mentioned and I don't want to give away any spoilers. However, despite the far fetched premised I found that I enjoyed this book. The pace did seem to slow down a bit in the middle of the book but there are a few twists and turns in the story which will hold your interest. Hard to believe that this is a debut novel. I look forward to reading more by this author.

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Thank you to Penguin UK and netgalley for my arc in exchange for an honest review and feedback.
My Lovely Wife is such a great read. A real pageturner that's keeps you hooked. I finished the book within a day and couldn't put it down. It's hard to talk about the great aspects of the book without giving too much away, but wait for that last sentence. A real good solid thriller, that I would definitely recommend.

Wow. Just wow.

What a blinder of a book!! This is have your head reeling by the end. Start to finish it is truly incredible. If you are a fan of thrillers this is certainly a book for you.

What would you do if you were part of a murderous double act? Millicent and "Tobias" seem happy, they have it made, great jobs, a fancy house and a lovely family. However, they have a dark secret that will lead you on so many twists and turns you will get neck ache!

Loved this! I'll be raving about this book for a while I'm sure of it.

Oh my goodness, this is dark indeed. the perfect couple leading the perfect life with the two kids and yet........... I won't lie I found it a difficult read. There are no characters that you like, with the exception of Jenna the daughter. That said it is compelling reading as you get more and more sucked into the dreadful situation. 

It’s a rollercoaster alright and it won’t be for everyone but ultimately I enjoyed it and recommend it

When I received a copy of My Lovely Wife I had no idea what to expect. The blurb was deliciously vague, only letting readers know that the couple had secrets.

I initially set out to read just a chapter or two before bed but instead found myself tearing through the pages. Over a hundred pages passed before I could bear to put the book down. This morning I finished it.

With a hint of Netflix sensation You, the opening chapters drew me straight in. A man who purposefully meets women at bars? Maybe a little seedy but nothing awful, right. But what if one of those women turns up dead? He's a little more suspicious now....

I'm going to avoid telling you any more about the plot, as I think that might spoil the adventure.

The characters weren't likeable. This isn't a book about good people doing bad things. It is a book about bad people doing bad things, at least in my opinion. There was something endearing about that though. There was no trying to hide from reality.

The husband, our narrator, is a tennis coach. His wife an estate agent. The story of their first meeting is adorable and their life seems pretty perfect at first glance. Two children, a gorgeous house in a gated community.

But what could possibly go wrong?

You'll have to read this for yourself to find out!

My Lovely Wife will be published in May 2019.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin UK (Michael Joseph) and Samantha Downing for the opportunity to read My Lovely Wife in exchange for my honest review.

The synopsis intrigued me... but I found My Lovely Wife to be a very slow read, that seemed to take sometime to deliver the story and read through the first half of the book.

This is sadly “A not for me, but I know others will love it”

This is a well written book however the story didn’t grab me like I expected. I was disappointed with how slow the story moved. It came across as though. Millicent was the driving force behind their secret but you only have the story from a very unmotivated POV. It’s almost as though he was participating with reluctance. Maybe I was in the wrong frame of mind to read this book but I found myself looking for excuses to not read.

Thank you! Before I settled down with this book I was beginning to think that I'd lost the ability to enjoy a book! So many of my recent reads have been disappointing, but, not this one!
Hold onto your seat though, this is a killer! I felt guilty enjoying it so much as it's soooo bad, but, soooo good.

This is a riveting, engrossing tale about a couple who have been married for 15 years and have 2 children, they also have a secret extracurricular activity that involves the husband luring young women...I don't want to say anymore as it would spoil what is an edge of your seat thriller and the intrigue and relationship between the wife and the husband is so absorbing. The kids are a bit odd too!

It's not perfect and there are some incredible coincidences, but, it kept me hooked and I read in one sitting. It's shocking, disquieting, mesmerising and more. A really, really good read.

Thanks so much to Netgally and the publishers, Penguin UK Michael Joseph, for the opportunity to preview this book in exchange for my honest review.

First for me from this author. won't be the last.
Great book, kept me reading without putting it down.
Twist! loved it! A must read for any thriller lover!!

Thanks to the publisher and net galley for an early release of this book.

Brilliant plot, excellent main characters that you invest in. I read this book in one sitting and I would highly recommend it.

Samantha Downing has the type of mind that would scare and confuse any psychoanalyst.

There are really light, happy stretches; the perfect family meals, children supported through sports and school, loving times between husband and wife. A perfect setting for a light hearted romance.

Then the lights go out. The only way to move through the maze of dark, dank and scary stuff is to crawl and hope the projectiles go over your head and you manage to avoid the bear traps with their sharpened spikes.

The title did make me wary of Millicent from the start. She also seemed a wee bit like a Stepford wife, although she was always the one running the show.

The dead ends in this maze all have 'bet you didn't see that one coming' written in blood. And I didn't.

An excellent read. The stuff nightmares are made of.

I don’t even know where to begin with this book. At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about this book due to the far fetched plot. However the way in which this book was written made this so addictive and chilling. I was worried if this would be a book where the ending was rushed and ruined the book. That was not the case! My lovely wife far exceeded my expectations.

Utterly compelling and horrifying in equal measure. Shows how lives can be manipulated and how the perfect family image can be so deceptive!!