Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins and Alice Hunter for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Wow, talk about a thriller! I adored everything about this book; the characters, the story line and the pace. I read this is one sitting and then was fortunate enough to listen to the audiobook. Alice Hunter is an author to watch. I can’t wait to read more from her. I was gripped from start to finish, such an interesting take on the story line.

Nothing really happened for the first 75% of the book that you wouldn't expect, with the title of the book.
But the last quarter is incredible. Twists and turns that you don't expect due to the narrative of the character.

No one every truly knows what goes on behind closed doors. In a lovely little village lives a seemingly perfect family alongside other seemingly perfect families. But who is hiding what? And who has the biggest secret? A wonderful domestic thriller for debut author Alice Hunter!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this ARC!

What a wild ride this was! The Serial Killers Wife is fantastic, one of the best thrillers I’ve read in a while.
I was gripped from the very start and constantly found myself saying ‘just one more chapter’ and I’d still be saying that 10 chapters later.
This is pretty fast paced with lots of twists and Beth is one of those characters that you find yourself feeling sorry for only to realise that she doesn’t really deserve any sympathy.
The Serial Killers Wife is one of those books that’s hard to talk or write about without giving any spoilers. I loved it and I can’t wait to read more by Alice Hunter.

My thanks to Avon Books U.K. for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Serial Killer’s Wife’ by Alice Hunter in exchange for an honest review.

Alice Hunter had studied psychology and worked in the prison service as part of a team offering rehabilitation programmes and her writing is informed by this background. With respect to plot details, I am going to be cautious in order to avoid spoilers.

Beth and Tom Hardcastle have been married for seven years and have recently moved from London to a small village near Banbury. Tom works in banking and commutes daily to London. Beth has recently opened a small ceramics cafe, Poppy’s Pottery Place, named for their three-year-old daughter.

Then one evening there is a knock on their door. It’s the police and they want to question Tom about a murder ..... I will leave it there.

This is the kind of novel that I would advise it best to read ‘cold’ for maximum impact. Hunter’s writing is quite character driven and the story unfolds at a measured pace. Yet I still found it a page-turner with plenty of twists that emerged in an organic way. While most of the story is told from Beth’s point of view, there is input from Tom and on occasion from two other women.

Overall, I enjoyed this very much and felt that it was an assured debut. I look forward to news of Alice Hunter’s future projects.

How well do we really know those we are closest to?

Beth and Tom Hardcastle appear to have it all, the perfect marriage and the perfect family, so when police come knocking on their door, asking to speak to Tom about something that happened eight years ago, before Beth even knew him, her perfect world comes crashing down around her, could what the police are saying be true and does Beth know more about these events than she's letting on?

The Serial Killers Wife is told across two timelines; Now and Eight years ago, and from four perspectives; Beth, Tom, Katie and an unknown person, with a title that says it all, centring around Beth and the apparent realisation that Tom isn't the person she thought he was. It's a tale of secrets and lies, with a slight BDSM element, the author hits the ground running with this one, which reeled me in from the first page and kept me hooked throughout. It's a great plot with plenty of twists along the way to keep the reader intrigued and an unexpected ending. I didn't warm to any of the characters but applauded Beth in her determination to do everything she could to protect her little girl Poppy, just as any good mother would. All in all, it's a tense, intriguing read from an author whose books I've read before, albeit under a different pen name, but equally as good as this one.

I'd like to thank Avon Books and Netgalley for the approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

could NOT put this down 😱 #theserialkillerswife #alicehunter #avonbooksuk #netgalley Beth thinks she has found the perfect husband and lives an idyllic life. When she stumbles across his ex girlfriend’s email on his iPad questions are raised. And the answer isn’t one you might think. This is out in four days. May 27th. Get this one NOW. You definitely will NOT be stepping away from this one #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #netgalleyreviewer #bookstagrammer #readersofig #netgalleyreads #bookrecommendations

This was a great read. Excellent characters and some great twists throughout. I loved the author's voice and found myself fully absorbed in the story. The twist ending was excellent and I didn't get what was going to happen. Perfect read for those who like mystery thrillers.

Beth and Tom Hardcastle have the perfect life…or so it seems until one day the police arrive from at their doorstop and ask Tom to accompany them to the station to answer questions about the disappearance of his ex. After that, piece by piece their “perfect” life is shattered and it’s not long before the focus turns on Beth - surely she must have known?

This is a fast paced, tense but enjoyable thriller. I loved having alternate chapters from Beth and Tom’s perspectives which give the reader insight into the criminal and victim. Added to that, there’s a third anonymous narrative which sparks plenty of intrigue and I enjoyed speculating whose voice it was.
There were elements of the plot that I guessed but also revelation after revelation that meant I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. The ending is brilliant not only because I totally didn’t see it coming but because when I thought about it, the author had weaved clues through out the plot and the answers were there all along. The last chapter is chilling.

It’s a fantastic psychological thriller. I am really glad to have read it. Perfect for a book club discussion or a fan of true crime.

Thank you to the author, Netgalley and Avon for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest opinion.

When Beth’s husband, Tom, is late home from work she imagines the worst. The police arriving moments after she’s rung him - again - sets alarm bells off...but not for the reasons you might think. Beth learns that the police want to question her husband in connection with the disappearance of an ex-girlfriend. Surely, this is a mistake. Beth wonders just what could have happened.
With the majority of the story from Beth’s view we spend a lot of the early part of the book being told about their perfect life in this rural idyll, her work running her own business and her attempts to ingratiate herself in the mothers’ clubs that seem to dominate their town. Slowly, Beth has to reconcile herself to the idea that Tom might not have been telling her the whole truth.
It’s not spoiling anything to say we establish quite early on that both Beth and Tom are keeping secrets. This isn’t a surprise, and as I was reading I was looking for clues as to the identity of the mysterious woman who knows more about Tom’s habits than most. There’s no surprises to see Tom is not at all the man we thought, and it really was a question of trying to establish exactly how much certain characters knew.
While the book itself was a surprisingly quick read, it didn’t grab me as much as I expected. I think I was so focused on trying to find clues and pull certain elements together that I found the deliberate attempts to throw us off quite off-putting. The character of Tom was also a tricky one. Obviously hard to like, but his mindset was increasingly hard to understand and his actions definitely conflicted with what was being said at key moments.
I was going to award two stars, but the rather delightful barb in our tale definitely hinted at - potentially - a much more intriguing story and made me reflect a little more favourably on some of the elements I’d found off-putting during my read. Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read this prior to publication in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Avon Books for approving me for an ARC of this book.

We start the story being thrown into the action and by the end of the chapter one Tom has been taken away for questioning. I love it when a mystery/thriller gets stuck straight in and builds the back story as we go along. It ups the tension and makes me want to keep going.

As a main character Beth was likeable and being a mum myself I immediately felt for the situation she was in. Can you imagine trying to keep a three year olds routine the same whilst dealing with your husband being arrested for murder? I applauded her handling of everything and felt she really had Poppy’s best interest at heart. As the story progressed I started to wonder what she was hiding. There was something about her that didn’t quite fit and whilst I had sympathy for her situation I did start to wonder how much she knew.

Tom’s chapters were the most haunting. They were well written, short and snappy chapters that left me with an uneasy feeling in my stomach. He was twisted, dark and calculating in what he said or did. What was the worst was he reasoning and how he saw his justification in his actions. If you then add Katie’s chapters to the mix you can see the fear and even though I knew where it was heading I wanted to save Katie in some way.

The story continues to progress in a pacey way and the big reveals keep on coming. Whilst I had figured one or two of the reveals out, it didn’t take away from the read at all. What stuck with me most was how rational our main characters had been in their decisions. Ultimately if they felt it was for the best then what could possibly be wrong with what they were doing?

This story left me questioning all the characters and trusting no one. It was packed with memorable characters, quick revelations and manipulation like you’ve never seen!

Hunter’s debut novel is a decent first attempt in the mystery/suspense genre. While reading the first chapter, I thought I had a huge winner in my hands, but as the story progressed, I soon realized that I did not care for either of the two main characters, Beth and Tom. According to Beth, they are in an idyllic marriage until one night Tom is late coming home from work, and the police show up asking for him. It seems they have questions for him about the disappearance of his former girlfriend, and when he arrives home, they cart him off to the police station for more questioning.

From here, Beth proceeds into much internal dialogue and caterwauling that made me want to reach into the book and slap her. She is so concerned about herself, her daughter, how people will see them, and I can’t say we wouldn’t all feel the same way, but it was over the top, and was hard to feel any sympathy. Instead of demanding answers from Tom, she soon develops a friendship with a widower with a small daughter, which seemed unusual for someone worried about what others will think.

The pacing was a bit too slow for me, and I probably would have given this two stars if not for the ending that I did not see coming. Bravo, for slipping one right past me! I suspect there could possibly be a second book, and if so, you could easily twist my arm to read it. I thank NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the opportunity to read this book and gave it three stars.

Thank you NetGalley, author Alice Hunter, and Avon publishing for giving me a free arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
4.5 stars
TW: murder and violence.
This was definitely a wild ride!
Beth and Tom seem to have the perfect marriage with their beautiful daughter Poppy. Beth owns a successful Ceramic Cafe and the locals have accepted her as they settle into the small community. One night the police knock on Beth's door looking to ask a few questions about her husband Tom and his ex Katie, who disappeared eight years ago. What starts out as routine questions leads to Beth wondering how much she really knows about her husband Tom? What really happened to Katie?
This book was so dark and twisted. I kept asking myself how much did Beth really know or not know? Did she help her husband cover up the crime?
I enjoyed how the book's chapters were not only short and easy to move through, but also the povs of the main characters in both the present and past. Each pov had their own unique voice so it made it easy to switch to the thoughts and feelings of each character without getting confused. The characters were not overly developed, but given just enough growth to move the story along. The author did a wonderful job with the pacing and writing that the story held my interest until the very end. That ending was such perfection that I did not see it coming.
I would recommend those who are looking for their next domestic psychological thriller! I can't wait to read another book by this author in the future.

A fab thriller with a clever twist at the end!

I was lucky enough to be approved for both an ebook and audiobook for this title. I enjoy being able to switch between reading and listening.

This story is full of surprises, just as you think you know the full story, you are hit with another shocking twist, particularly the last one, that leaves you gobsmacked! It is told through the narratives of the main characters, and through this you can really feel the emotions and frustrations the characters are experiencing. I quite liked the story line and the deceit and lies that unravel as you progress further into the story. The character development is fab and very unexpected in some cases, but cleverly done! I enjoyed the twists and the variety of characters involved within the story, and was certainly hooked from the start. It is well paced and an enjoyable, easy read.

I absolutely loved how Beth comes across so innocently in the beginning and by the end her true intentions come to light! I liked the easy chapters that weren’t to lengthy, so when doing “one more chapter” you are able to add in another couple more without losing too many hours into the night.

I will certainly be looking into this authors future books to read, I really enjoyed her writing style throughout this book.

** I received an advanced copy of this ebook and audiobook to read and review. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for allowing me this opportunity**

I read this book both as an audiobook and as a book, and I liked them both. I particularly liked the fact they used one male and one female narrators, which gave a more interesting edge to the story.
All in all the plot was engaging and well written, it just dragged a bit in the mid part, but when you understand why Beth behaves like she does, why she seems selfish and uncaring about anything but herself and her daughter, then everything makes sense and the story picks up pace again.
The ending, even though you might guess it at a certain point, will leave you with a foul aftertaste and you'll find it difficult to think about it for a while.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tom and Beth Hardcastle appear to have the perfect life, until the police knock on their door one night and accuse Tom of being a murderer. The author drops you right into the action, and the story takes many twists and turns from there (some of which I was really not expecting!). The story is told from the viewpoints of Beth, Tom, Katie (the missing woman), and a mysterious narrator. Overall, I did enjoy the story. I felt that it drug a little bit towards the middle, but definitely picked up steam at the end. Also, for me, Beth was not a very likeable narrator. Something seemed a little self-centered about her (to me anyway), but I think that may have been the point. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book to review!

The Serial Killer’s Wife is a great debut thriller that is well written and packed with plenty of twists and turns to keep you turning those pages.
Beth and Tom Hardcastle have been married for eight years and have a young daughter, from the outside everything seems rosy, Beth successfully runs her own ceramic cafe and Tom has a good job, commuting to London daily. Beths world comes crashing down when Tom is arrested for the murder of an ex girlfriend and the locals feel she must have known about it.
This was a great thriller that I enjoyed from start to finish, it is a deviously written book as the more you read the more you find out and your loyalties for that character start to change. Tom and Beth are both quite complex characters and I would have liked to have had more knowledge of their childhoods so it would have linked in better with how they are in their adult years. You were told a little about their earlier lives but I didn’t think it was enough, but maybe that’s just me?
I would like to thank Netgalley and Avon Books UK for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very good book. I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it! It had several twists I was not expecting. Once I got started reading, I couldn't put it down! A must read!

The Serial Killer's Wife wasn't what I expected. And I'm torn. Parts of it were very good and parts of it seemed to drag out. Overall, the characters that should have been fascinating were kind of boring and predictable, with no depth to speak of. I was left feeling like the entire story was disjointed. The end attempted to pull it all together but it still didn't feel cohesive.

Well this was fun.

This doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is: a brain candy beach read of a good time. Expect mega suspense, characters that are oh-so-suspicious, and some delightfully trashy behavior.

As you’d expect, some of our characters have…secrets. And you’ll love discovering them.

This is definitely an enjoyable read and I’d read the author again!

*ARC provided via Net Galley