Dead to Her is a fabulously entertaining story covering so many themes; jealousy, envy, revenge, love, romance, good living, opulence, wealth and prestige, for starters!

I have come across talented writer, Sarah Pinborough before so I fully expected to adore this story, too. Marcie Maddox, the second wife of Jason, loves her life of grandiose mansions, luxury yachts and prestigious country clubs in Savannah, Georgia and has had to work incredibly hard to get where she is. But it is a real struggle keeping Jason interested, especially when his boss, William Radford IV, returns from a trip to London with a new trophy wife - Keisha. When stunningly beautiful Keisha and Jason are magnetically drawn to each other, it is not long before Marcie's talons materialise...

As the dynamics between the characters gradually intensify during the first half, I found myself frequently pondering the direction the story might take. The first chapters flowed at a fairly sedate pace, but the latter half took off at full tilt and I couldn't put Dead to Her down!

I loved that Dead to Her was set amongst Savannah’s wealthy jet-setters and the author's vivid descriptions helped cement the tone of the story. Marcie made a tremendous lead character, as well as possessing an interesting personality, though Keisha was a little uninspiring. However, neither of them was stereotypical or formulaic.

There are many unusual surprises, including some voodoo and black magic and of course, murder. This additional element of the supernatural was a fun twist that delighted me. It complemented the setting perfectly and enhanced the overall story. Deliciously dark and very highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.

This book took so long to get into this book but unfortunately I've had to abandon ship at 30%. I really enjoyed Behind Her Eyes and was astounded by the ending so I had high hopes for this book, but unfortunately I couldn't care less about the characters in order to find out more about them. Barely any hint of something 'thrilling' happening and life is too short to read books I don't enjoy,

When Jason Maddox's recently widowed boss returns from a trip abroad with a (significantly younger) new wife, no one can take their eyes off her. Keisha is beautiful and Marcie feels threatened by her presence.

The start of Marcie and Jason's relationship wasn't exactly a conventional one. He divorced his first wife to be with her after a whirlwind affair. And now Marcie thinks he's got his eyes on Keisha...

Once a cheater, always a cheater, right?

But Marcie doesn't understand that Keisha is not the least bit interested in Jason, and although it's fair to say that Jason is distracted, it isn't necessarily all about Keisha. He has a lot of his plate with the business, and has aspirations of buying his boss out.

Marcie and Keisha have more in common than they think. They are both much younger than the society wives that are part of their social circle, and they both had poor and difficult upbringings.

One unlikely drunken afternoon brings them closer together and changes everything between them forever. But is everything as it seems, and will they be able to trust each other when the time comes for true friends to stick together?

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
An intriguing psychological thriller with an interesting range of characters.
Deceit, lust,money and old Southern attitudes combined with a good writing style, made this a good read. Twists and turns to get to the final truth.
Not as compulsive a read, as her previous book Behind Her Eyes but still enjoyed it.

What an addictive read! I loved this book - I was hooked right from the start. Set in Savannah, Georgia There are 4 main characters, Marcie & Jason and Keisha & Billy and except for Keisha they are all desperate to keep up appearances in their society setting whilst in reality their lives are in chaos. The appearance of voodoo in the story adds some extra unexpected but intriguing twists and turns to the plot. I thought the ending was brilliant -I’d guessed the perpetrator but not the final fabulous plot twist! This book needs a sequel.

Dead To Her has a much slower start than I anticipated from a Sarah Pinborough novel. This said, when the action started to pick up the heat was definitely intense.

I loved the setting, the sense of languid heat and the tension of the book, and I was most satisfied by the ending.

A gripping story that I just loved. And was so well written. The characters were so well described and the Southern State of Georgia With all its idiosyncrasies and atmosphere was so real that I felt I was living among the situation. As an author Sarah has touched on topics that most authors would leave well alone and she has succeeded in taking the politics and correctness out of the discussion.
It was an apposite comparison to say that when we go on vacation, fall in love with whatever but when we get back home to a different environment it does not fit in anymore.i can remember buying a skirt in Austria that was so beautiful but when I got back home I realised that it was not suitable for my home area. The understanding and explanations of different types of love and the so called idyllic life of the rich class of people were so well integrated. I also loved the references to Voodoo culture and practices, especially the clarification that these can be for good as well as bad.
The last few chapters were the story was finally closed were fantastic and ended the story on a real positive thought.

I am giving this book a very low 3 stars. I have dithered between 2 stars or 3. I did not like any of the characters. Their privileged life style is something that I would never want to be part of or enjoy reading about. Parts of the plot were good but I do not believe in juju. I have read other books by Sarah Pinborough and really enjoyed them but this book was not my cup of tea.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I must admit I really enjoyed author’s previous books Behind Her Eyes (despite the unbelievable ending) and Cross Her Heart and I was looking forward the her new release. Sadly I have to say that Dead To Her didn’t work for me as I would like.

The story centres around rich and privileged people of Savannah, black magic and voodoo rituals.

First part of the book was slow paced, the action picked up half way through but it took the turning that I didn’t not enjoyed. The writing was cheesy and some phrases were repeated numerous times which made me want to skip some chapters. I feel like the book was unnecessary filled with elements that didn’t bring anything to the story and felt unrealistic to me, I’ve found myself rolling my eye way too many times. All characters were unlikable and annoyed me at time and I was not rooting for anyone.

I was most definitely missing a major twist that I so liked in author’s previous books. Yes, there was a minor twist however it felt rushed and ridiculous and kind of expected.

Unfortunately the book was a bit of a disappointment for me however I am sure other people will enjoy it. I will be definitely reaching for Sarah Pinborough’s the next books.

Another great read from Sarah Pinborough.
There are some truly messed up people in this book all with an obsession with money.
It’s a different world, that of money and power and they all think they’re better than the others.
Marcie likes her life of luxury and when her husband’s boss introduces her to his new young wife, she feels threatened.
Little does she know that she’s completely misjudged Keisha and she has a surprise for her.
When one of the group becomes gravely ill there’s suspicion placed on all of them but I wasn’t prepared for the final few chapters.
I’d guessed it completely wrong and loved the way the book ended.
Thanks to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

"Being the second wife can be murder."

I have seen Sarah Pinborough's name around on Instagram quite a lot lately. Behind Her Eyes and Cross Her Heart are some of her previous works and both seem to have received good reviews. When I saw Dead To Her on Netgalley, I thought I would request to read it and see what all the fuss is about.

Dead To Her follows two women, Marcie and Keisha who both get married into a high society life to older men. Marcie comes from a poor background who eventually meets and then marries the well off Jason Maddox. She is his second wife after them both having an affair which resulted in his first wife leaving him. Her husband works for the well known, rich widower William Radford who marries Keisha. She is a young, beautiful British girl in her twenties who met William whilst working as a waitress in a table dancing bar in London. He falls for the stunning Keisha and brings her back to the US with him and into his world of endless money, huge mansions and country clubs.

Marcie feels threatened by Keisha. She has always been the young, hot wife in the posh Savannah community and had felt she was starting to be accepted into the elite social circles but now Keisha is taking over. She no longer is seen as the most desirable one , her husband Jason seems to not be able to take his eyes off Keisha. Marcie keeps thinking to herself, once a cheat, always a cheat. She had a difficult upbringing and she does not want to have to go back to her old life anytime soon.

Both women know that they will always be seen as the outsiders to everybody else in their privileged social scene. They also both have a past that they want to keep hidden away. What will both women have to do to make sure that they keep their lives of luxury and stop anyone who threatens it?

Like most thrillers, I cannot say too much of what happens because I would be at risk of spoiling the book for future readers. It is anyway most definitely a book worth going into blind as it wasn't anything like I expected it to be after reading the synopsis. I can tell you however, that this book is drama filled, unputdownable and in parts quite steamy! It is based on secrets, lies and jealousy with characters that are not very likeable at all.
Every person in this book is arrogant, untrustworthy and self absorbed. The author manages to keep you questioning many of the characters motives which is something I love in a thriller especially as a lot of the story appears to be a tangled web of deception.

I did find it at times a bit slow in pace but it soon picked up and I could not put it down. One of the things I like about it most is that it is completely different to any domestic thriller I have read before. It has elements of a creepy horror story to it that makes you wonder how on earth things are going to unravel.

Overall, I found it a highly entertaining read and would recommend it to readers who love a domestic thriller that is a bit dark and twisted with a bit of voodoo thrown in!

I would like to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins for letting me read a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2020/06/04/dead-to-her-by-sarah-pinborough/
My TL:DR Five Word Review : Jealousy, Lust, Secrets and Murder

Dead To Her is another Sarah Pinborough book that kept me pretty much glued to the page. This is a winning combination of steamy Southern gothic meets modern retelling of DuMaurier’s Rebecca and the combination of Steel Magnolias, gold diggers and unfaithful husbands makes for a boiling pot of intrigue.

If you’re picking up Dead to Her don’t imagine for one moment that you’re going to like any of the characters. This is one big mess of nasty that goes to prove that beauty really is sometimes simply skin deep.

Meet Marcie – second wife to successful and wealthy Jason. Marcie has completely reinvented herself and has finally achieved her heart’s desires. She has a rich husband, money is no object, she’s younger than the other wives in her wealthy set and moves in elite circles. Of course, Marcie, will never truly be satisfied because there’s always ‘one more goal’ before she has truly reached the pinnacle of success and having married a man who cheated and divorced his first wife she can never totally relax because she’s walking on pins waiting for the very same thing to happen to her.

Meet Keisha. Recently married to William Radford IV, Jason’s boss, powerful and rich, Keisha is barely in her twenties. She waltzes in with her designer gowns, curvaceous body, drop dead gorgeous looks and wild nature and steals Marcie’s crown without batting one perfectly outlined eyelid. The two are rivals but at the same time, not being truly part of the inner circle their ‘outsider’ status pushes them together.

I’m not going to elaborate too much on the plot as this will fundamentally spoil the reveals as they naturally occur. And there are plenty of reveals and a tangled web of deceit and red herrings along the way.

Characters – as I said don’t expect to make any friends among these pages. I have sat here and thought about all of them and to be honest none of them are basking in the glow of innocence. Whether it be greed, betrayal, bullying behaviour, vanity or revenge there are many shades of grey here and a number of different agendas.

The setting is modern Savannah. Hot and sultry, full of history and elite families with cupboards full of skeletons that will never be publicly displayed. This is how the other half lives. Money no object. Yachts, lavish dining, afternoon cocktails around the pool, shopping sprees simply to break the monotony. And, keeping up – everyone is jostling for position.

As I mentioned, I’m not going to elaborate on the plot. Pinborough is becoming the queen of twisted storytelling. Building things up and then knocking them back down. In terms of the murder and the police investigation, I will say I’m not sure how everything stacks up but, to be honest, I don’t think it really matters here. This is more about the dark underbelly and the glorious reveals which make it such an entertaining read. There is also a play on magical realism in the form of voodoo and bad juju although this is a light touch that feeds more on superstition and fear than anything else.

In terms of criticism. I think the novel takes a little while to really gather momentum but I didn’t find it a problem. This felt like a very quick read and the set up is necessary. And, as I said, I’m not sure how realistic some elements of the story are but, again, I don’t think it really matters as this is more about entertainment value than police procedure.

Overall, this was, as I hoped and expected, a very entertaining read. I loved the play on a well loved classic story and the writing is easy, persuasive and cheeky all at once.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

I was really surprised by the beginning of this book - it took me a long time to get into the plot and actually like any of the characters. At first I found them really annoying - looking back, I think that was the point the author was trying to make, that not everything is perfect.

It was around 55% into the book that my interest picked up and I read the rest in one sitting. Early on into this part of the story I had worked our one of the plot twists, but the others were brilliantly and cleverly written!

The characters were sort of a mix between unbelievable and believable - but I've never mixed with the insanely rich! It did show me however that you never know what goes on behind closed doors.

I would still, absolutely recommend this book.

The book is set in Savannah in Georgia in the US - where a group of wealthy individuals have intertwined lives.  Marcie is a second wife - and seen as the new girl on the block, until an even newer younger model arrives in the shape of another second wife, Keisha,  a Londoner in this strange world of tradition and history.

Marcie is convinced Keisha is after her husband (I guess when you move from mistress to wife you leave a vacancy based on past behaviour?!) but it's not as simple as that (and I have to say I guessed that twist very early on).

The book then follows Marcie and Keisha and their husbands - who work and socialise together - and how their story develops as part of this close knit community.

There is a bizarre black magic theme interwoven in the book which all feels a bit odd and forced - it definitely wasn't a part of the storyline I liked. 

The tension in the book builds, and I wanted to know what happened and who would potentially frame whom for the 'crime' - but I just didn't love this  book as much as I'd hoped.  I'm not sure if it was the American setting, or the seemingly stereotypical cliches of characters - but it just didn't feel quite right. 

Just like Behind Her Eyes, the ending is a cracker - and could set you up for a sequel - although I'm not entirely sure I'd bother........

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

Firstly, thank you to Harper Collins UK/HarperCollins Fiction & Sarah Pinborough.

Dead To Her is a thriller that is based on two females, Marcie and Keisha, who are “second wives” of their current husbands, that are in an elite group of friends. Their friends are seriously rich, with whom they envy, they all seem to have the most perfect lives. The story is told from both Marcie and Keisha’s perspectives, and you learn a lot about their backgrounds. The two of them came from nothing, so to marry into the lives of their husbands was like a dream come true for them. Keisha manages to grab the attention of Marcie’s husband, Jason, and she refuses to be pushed to one side… The lengths Marcie will go to, to get what she wants, who knows how far she’ll really go…

I actually really enjoyed this book; I was literally hooked from the first chapter which isn’t very common for me. There is so much suspense throughout the novel that I just couldn’t put it down and managed to finish it in less than a day! It’s a book full of lies, sex, deceit and murder, what’s not to enjoy?

It’s the kind of book where you’re constantly guessing who did what and what’s going to happen next, and it turns out to be completely wrong! There are so many twists and turns throughout the book from the beginning right until the end, and I constantly found myself thinking “wow, that was completely unexpected”! I wouldn’t say it’s your typical thriller that is very predictable, it's actually quite the opposite.

With the book being released in the next two days I highly recommend anyone to read this! Definitely won’t disappoint.

Be patient with this one. Three quarters into the book and things REALLY get interesting. You get to know the group of friends as you go and you can feel the tension from the new second wives that fight hard to fit in to the clique. When something disastrous occurs who is to blame and there are a few obvious choices, this is where people's past come to the fore.

Having just read Behind her Eyes -which I couldn't put down -I was looking forward to this new one by Ms Pinborough.
Unfortunately it was not for me.
Mainly centred around the wealthy couples of Savannah- I felt it was like reading a script of The Real Housewives of .... Shallow characters filling their days with tennis- luncheons- charity balls and not much else.
It did get a little better near the end but I had already lost patience with the whole story .
Sorry not for me

Thank you Net Galley for an ARC in return for an honest review

I put my hands up and happily admit I like the way Sarah Pinborough writes. She builds her story with care and craft and draws you in until you feel you know the characters and are routing for your favourite. I enjoyed the setting of Savannah in America’s Deep South with their different way of life and mix of black and white cultures - particularly interesting is the way voodoo sits alongside Christianity with harmony and acceptance. I’m looking forward to reading more from this great author.

I was worried pretty quickly about this. I struggled from the beginning. I wanted to give it a chance but I couldn't really think of a reason to.
The characters were all annoying to the point I didn't care what happened to any of them.
I ended up DNFing it.

Author - Sarah Pinborough

Published - 4 June 2020

Genre – Crime fiction

I've only read a few books by Sarah Pinborough but the differences between all three mark her out as a very versatile author, the settings, characters and plot couldn't be more different but are all equally credible.

In Dead to Her we're off to steamy Savannah, Georgia and the world of some seriously wealthy couples living the high life. Marcie knows how difficult it can be to fit in with the country club set when you're the new, younger, second wife, so when her widowed husband's boss brings a new wife, Keisha, home from his trip to London, a woman who is at least forty years younger than him, stunning and black, she's quick to appraise her. But where there might have been sisterly solidarity Marcie can only see a threat to her own plans.

The story switches back and forth between Keisha and Marcie. We learn from Keisha of her less than ideal upbringing and background.  We know why she married a man old enough to be her grandfather and the price that she has to pay. Living in a house full of secrets with reminders of her predecessor all around while she is haunted by her own past.

From Marcie we find out what it takes to be part of the 'set' and the worries of the second wife - when you married a cheater can you ever trust them? Asked by her husband to make friends with Keisha he can't have imagined how that request would pan out.

As the plot unfolds it moves with the slow, sultry heat of the deep south. The atmosphere is full of sex, money and black magic. And then there is an unexpected death - the plot takes off and the true nature of the members of the clique becomes clear.

A really enjoyable read with some twists and turns - perfect for fans of Big Little Lies.