This wasn’t the book for me unfortunately. I couldn’t give it a chance as a result. And no full review...

A couple of seriously dark characters here. This is a gripping read that had a shocking twist at the end. I'm getting a little tired of "new Gone Girl" comparisons - this does not need it, it stands out on its own.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

The narrator of this story is married to Millicent and they have 2 children. He is a tennis coach and Millicent is a realtor, they have been married for 15 years, it has to be said that this is not what you would call a conventional marriage. They have a rather sinister way of keeping the marriage alive!

This is first person narrative About how he met his wife Annabel and how they killed their first person. From the beginning you can see he is privileged man talking about his past and parents as they were the reason for what he does, also you can see she is manipulating him, or maybe he is happy to be manipulated.

Also the role of the media in big cases , how the media all the time turn on the victim, when the story dries out they go for the worst type of journalist .

This was mind blowing book , the twist at the end was just chilling, This book needs warning to be attached to it. As the story is not easy to read and it has traumatic events. But it was astonishing to read that this is the first book Samantha Downing, as it really good plot.

The creepiness of these couple drip drip until it’s difficult to read ,I like to understand the characters but these two were disturbing .

It’s kind of dark drama, you enjoy it while you are feeling guilty as this is not something to enjoy.

I am telling anyone that I know to read it!

I loved this book! A psychological thriller, surprisingly un-gory, when you consider the subject matter!
I didn’t see the twist coming, and lots of the story kept surprising me, as it unfolded - edge of seat stuff!

An entertaining, escapist thriller romp full of twists and turns. I definitely recommend this to thriller fans!

An interesting premise, and well executed. The characters are interesting and this is certainly a different take on the serial killer novel, but I wasn't quite convinced by the motivation of the lead character so I did find myself having to suspend my disbelief a little. Having said that, the plot was compelling, and the denouement very satisfying. An enjoyable read.

This is a debut novel and one that blew me away. I am so excited to read whatever books come next from Samantha Downing. Tobias & Millicent are married with kids, living in the suburbs, they’re your nice normal neighbours……NOPE! They’ve got a secret, a very dark disturbing secret. This book had me hooked from the first chapter; it entwines the dull everyday happenings of family life with dark disturbing occurrences. Told from only the husband’s point of view it retells disturbing scenes with an almost dull and unfeeling monologue. This was a fantastic read that I stayed up well into the early hours for “just one more page”. Highly recommend

Now that the springtime weather is no longer fooling us with the early arrival of summer, but has cascaded in and unveiled it's true wet self, there is no better time to snuggle up with a good book.

And I present to you a very good book indeed. MY LOVELY WIFE by Samantha Downing is a real treat; one that twists and turns to a deliciously satisfying ending.

When you begin the novel, I wasn't sure what to expect. Is the narrator the good guy? Are he and his wife more than a bit weird? And as you read through, you are almost lulled into the sense that although depraved this couple's unique bonding time is holding their seemingly normal family together. Until it isn't.

With a twist that you don't see coming, MY LOVELY WIFE explores just how insidious the human soul can be. But also how much you will do to protect your family.

Delicious dark psychological suspense.

It’s been aaaaaages since I woke up early and instead of going straight on social media, grabbed the book I had started reading the night before. But that’s exactly what I did at 5.15am one morning when I desperately picked up my copy of My Lovely Wife and read it until the very end before I had to get up and get ready for work.

I had actually seen this book around, so many readers were recommending it I NEEDED TO READ THIS BOOK! And, as expected, they were absolutely right! This book is the PERFECT psychological thriller/domestic noir novel and has shot straight onto my favourite books of the year list already.

Honestly, My Lovely Wife shocked the hell out of me and that’s a rarity in itself with the amount of twisty psychological thrillers that I read! If you love dysfunctional families, disturbing plot twists and skeletons in cupboards (metaphorically as well as physically!) then you are going to love this book. I went into it blind and because I want you to do the same I’m not even mentioning the plot or characters here apart from to say that they have been pitched to perfection. My Lovely Wife will hook you immediately and gradually reel you in until you can think of nothing else except this book. Clear your day, stock up on snacks and have a large G&T ready for when you’ve finished it because you are going to need it!

My Lovely Wife felt fresh, cunningly crafted and deliciously dark and is probably the most voyeuristic, self satisfying novel you will revel in this year! I devoured it with plenty of relish and guarantee you will too.

I found this book to be a well written debut novel which I enjoyed although found disturbing too. I was drawn in from the start but found I was unable to put the book down at about two thirds of the way through. There were some great twists and turns and a satisfying ending.

I look forward to reading more from Samantha Downing

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

You never in Korea what it's going on behind closed doors. A fast passed thriller with some great twists. I could see this being made into a film. A great read.

If you love Dexter and Killing Eve... then you’ll love this!

As husband and wife teams go, the extracurricular activities of these two is something else!

Millicent and her husband (he is the nameless narrator) are your typical (ahem) suburban family with the 2.4 children, but there is something just a little different! In fact so different to what you might expect, I couldn’t put the book down and cannot say why without ruining what happens at the start, middle or end, but what I can say is expect a dark twisted plot with turns and surprises the whole way through!

Oh my god what a book! Honest to god I couldn’t breathe half the time I was reading it for holding my breath haha! Full of twists and turns it doesn’t let up, cracker of a book and I didn’t want it to end, look out for this one guys you won’t want to miss it, fantastic!

This book would make a fantastic film! It literally had me gripped from the very start. It is so different from most books out there which is refreshing. The story is based around a seemingly normal family of four, Millicent, her husband ( name unknown) and their two children. On the outside they are just a normal suburban family but Millicent and her husband have a very dark secret which quickly becomes revealed. A fabulously dark and quite creepy story. I really wasn't sure how it was going to end but loved the final showdown. An easy 5 stars!

Wow this was a brilliant book! This follows a couple who, in order to try and 'shake things up' and decide to do the unthinkable. We get to see this story from the husbands point of view and we get to follow him throughout the whole story as we see what him and his wife have been upto and what secrets get revealed. This was a truley addicitve read and I would highy recommend.

This was a very well paced, enjoyable read but if you have read as many thrillers as me, you may find the story a bit predictable...

There's so many good reviews for this book it seems almost pointless to leave another! I really enjoyed this, the only negative been I felt it was a bit slow to get started. It took me 50 or so pages to get into it but then I was gripped. A great book to finish 2019 on.

Ok, so when I saw a quote by author CJ. Tudor referring to this book being “Dexter meets Gone Girl” I thought to myself that if done well it should be a twisted read! And bloomin’ ‘eck it certainly was!

So, what to tell you about this story…hmmm! It is about a family of Mum, Dad and two kids: one of each, nice house, both work and they all seem to muddle along quite nicely. Will that do? No! Oh, okay…

There is a killer at large and he is targeting women, to all intents and purposes this is the re-emergence of a serial killer that had been at large years ago. There is a certain amount of tension as the killer has got in touch with the media, as is the way of things nowadays everything is analysed under a microscope. This attention adds fuel to the psychological firestorm that is brewing. It’s effects are felt very close to home.

The author has used quick chapters and a back and forth style to create a fabulous domestic thriller, there are tensions from many aspects. The teenage children are exposed to an limitlessness torrent of news and media reports that have some unsettling consequences for the parents in this family.

The family from the outside look like your normal suburban family, but it is what goes on behind closed doors that counts, that’s when you get to see the real them! The mother seems a little too controlled and ordered and this gives her a slightly cold trait, but given her history it wasn’t that surprising. The dad, is a tennis coach and has a steady stream of clients, but he is not the main earner, that is the wife.

I feel I must apologise at this point for the really, really randomness of this review. There are so many things I want to tell you about this book and each time I start I have to stop as it would give away too many things.

This book is a psychological thriller of the domestic variety, it is a book that centrea around one particular family. It delves into their daily lives and tiptoes briefly back in time. It has quite a few surprises along the way and at one point in the story I did have an inkling and then thought nah, and brushed it aside and it lay forgotten about until I had that eureka moment of “OMG I was right” and was still shocked!

This is a clever and viciously twisted book, it had a certain amount of intrigue from the outset that just increased as the story unfolded. I did take a little longer to read this, I think three or four sittings, due to work and other boring but necessary stuff, but it is one of those books that kept niggling at me to pick it up and read it.

If you like a good domestic, psychological thriller then get a copy of this one. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it.