This book had great short sharp chapters, which really drew you in and made you want to read more. Lots and twists and turns looking forward to reading more from this author

The Serial Killer’s Wife by Alice Hunter
Narrated by Sarah Paul; James Macnaughton; Kristin Atherton was a fantastic audiobook and I was gripped from the beginning till the end. I loved it. Especially as it had great twists and turns with a cracking ending! I did not expect that! I highly recommend this audio book.

Really enjoyed this story. Kept me guessing and kept my interest from the start. Loved how the story slowly unfolded to reveal the true extent of his actions. Can't wait to read the next book.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.

I enjoyed this one from start to finish and felt the story unfolded at just the right pace. The reader was drip fed each detail at precisely the right time. The book had nice short chapters and it was always clear which character we were living through and what was going on.

I stayed up until 1am to finish it, and even when the story was wrapping up, and I thought I knew what was going on, there came the final twist; turning the story on its head! so nicely done; I’ll definitely be looking for more from Alice Hunter

I enjoyed this audiobook about Beth and Tom Hardcastle, who have been married for seven years and have a three-year-old daughter. Tom is questioned by the police about a murder and this causes Beth to question him and their life. But how much does she really already know? This is a great book which has plenty of twists and turns and I was always eager to read on to find out who I could really trust and who really knew what. I enjoyed the big reveal at the end. The narrators of the book were very good.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Audio version of this book 📚 - I really struggled with this book ☹️ I couldn’t understand why Beth the wife of Tom didn’t question and react to his initial arrest and why she didn’t ask more questions as surely to suddenly have your husband arrested for murder out of the blue would have made her want to find out exactly what have happened ?? So , unfortunately this book wasn’t for me as I was getting more and more frustrated with the main character that it ruined the storyline.

I also found the narrator that was the voice of Beth to be a little bit over excitable at times which didn’t seem to fit with what the character was experiencing!

Really enjoyed this audiobook. Fast pace of storyline. Clear and understandable narrator. I would recommend.

This is yet another great thriller that I've managed to read recently. This one was the audiobook version with great narrative from Sarah Paul, James Macnaughton and Kristin Atherton! The multi narrative was great and really brought the characters to life. I listen to audio in the car quite alot and the male character in this book really sounded quite sinister at times which made for interesting drives to work!

The plot was gripping and as the story began to unfold we had to wonder if the serial killers wife knew that her husband was a monster and also if its always easy to catch a killer? ...

If your husband was a serial killer what would you do? Would you forgive him and stay together for the sake of your family ? Or would you shop him to the police to save your family from him?

This was an enjoyable listen that kept me hooked from chapter one! I'd definitely like to read more by Alice Hunter!

Would you know if your husband was a serial killer ?

I listened to the Audio version of this and got a bit frustrated with the flicking between Now and Eight years ago, at the start of every chapter but it did keep me on track and I enjoyed the different narrators rather than one person trying to talk differently for the characters
The story is told from the main characters preceptive centring around Beth and when the police turn up and ask Tom to come to answer some questions regarding Tom's missing ex girl friend from over 8 years ago , Beth soon realises that maybe Tom isn't the person she thought he was

Although I felt the plot was drawn out and it got repetitive in places it did pick up towards the end with a twist I wasn't expecting so worth the read/listen

Thanks to Net galley & Harper Collins for giving me the opportunity to listen to this book and review it

I listened to the audible version of this book. The female narrator had an odd way of pausing for a long time in strange places, and this definitely impacted on my enjoyment of the book.

The story itself was surprisingly lacking in suspense, and full of a lot of filler. In fact, most of the book centres around Beth's rambles. I found her character superficial and contradictory. She talks about wanting to make friends, but then says that she has no friends because she holds people at arms length. Tom being arrested becomes all about her and her social standing. At one point she says about his arrest that every cloud has a the silver lining because now she will have something to chat to the other mums about.

I can see that there was an intriguing idea from the author, but I just didn't feel that the book delivered on its promise.

My thanks go to the publishers and NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

I found this book very slow moving and didn’t feel like I connected well with the characters at all. There were a few surprises in the book but I felt it dragged the story on and it was a difficult one to finish.

I wanted to read this as the description sounded intriguing and I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more if the characters were more likeable and not quite so boring.

Beth and Tom appear to have the perfect marriage, with a sweet daughter Poppy. Beth owns a successful Ceramic Café and the locals have accepted her as they settle into the small community. Then Beth’s husband Tom is arrested and accused of murdering Katie, his girlfriend before he met and married Beth. It was believed that she had been travelling for several years, but now the police are looking at her disappearance as murder. Tom proclaims his innocence, but Beth has her doubts. In fact, did Beth know more about this situation than she let on? Has she kept quiet for the sake of Poppy?

The story is told mainly from Beth's point of view as she questions what she does, and doesn’t know about her husband, while trying to protect their 3 year old daughter, Poppy. I found the first half of the book quite slow, but it does speed up in the second half, and there are a few interesting twists, that kept me reading. I was also surprised by the motives and the how of what happened. Describing Tom as a serial killer is a bit of a stretch, there were three victims over fourteen years, and the first was accidental. I do believe that he was a sociopath, who had no feelings for anyone but himself. A bit of a narcissist who is good-looking and charming, so he is good at drawing women towards himself and cutting them off from family and friends. Beth and Tom’s story is one of toxic love and obsession. What I missed in this book that have been in the others I have read, was the treatment of the families of murderers. There was no harassment, nothing on social media, no fallout from other parents at school, which makes me care about the characters. I found it hard to connect to Beth, which left me feeling a bit flat when this one ended. I have read a couple of books about the wives of serial killers, and perhaps that was a problem going into this book. This is a domestic thriller that is well written, but for me there were some plotlines that were missed. I am in a minority in my opinion, so by all means, if you enjoy a domestic thriller, give this one a go.

The audiobook is narrated by Sarah Paul, James MacNaughton, and Kristin Atherton. The cast really brought the book to life. I enjoyed the performance with their expression and emotion. I always enjoy audiobooks more when they have a cast instead of just one narrator.

Loved this audio book, read brilliantly (particularly the male voice). Fast paced helped by changing between voices and viewpoints for each chapter. As for the storyline - well! Where to start? This was one of those books where I wanted to scream at Beth (the wife) and tell her to open her eyes to what was going on and get a backbone! The story was brilliantly executed, a few sections where I probably shouldn't have played the audio while driving with my family in the car (oops R18) but, overall a thrilling page-turner with enough twists and turns to keep you entertained and a big eye opener towards the end. 5* would definitely recommend if you're lucky enough to have a summer by the poolside and trust your husband.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. Throughout this book, I Kept thinking I had read it before, but I have no idea how that could be. That being said, I feel like I knew the surprise ending? But the suspense is good. The different voices were great at drawing you in. Will look for more by this author.

Beth's life is turned upside down when the police come to arrest her husband for the murder of his girlfriend, who disappeared 8 years ago. Soon he is in custody and Beth has to try and carry on, despite the intrusive interest of journalists and neighbours, and questions from the police. They think she must have known, must have guessed, but how much can you ever really know what goes on inside a person's head?

I really disliked the narration of this book. The main female narrator read the story too slowly and with weird pauses between the word, and strange intonation and emphasis that didn't seem to match what was being said. I had to listen to the whole thing on a higher speed, and even then the pace of speech seemed irritatingly slow. The male narrator and secondary female narrator were both better.

I never had much sympathy for the main character, who never seemed that bothered about her husband, and whose actions seemed weird on several occasions throughout the story. The story in the end did all wrap up in a neat and satisfying way, which all made sense, but although I was interested to see what happened, I never felt that I was invested in the characters enough to really care what happened to them.

EXCERPT: Tom - This isn't the first time I've been in a police station, but it is the first time I have been interviewed in relation to a murder.

I clench my fists under the rectangular table. My wedding ring digs into the flesh of the neighbouring fingers. I will my hands to relax again, pulling my arms from beneath the table and resting them loosely in front of me. I'll come across as less stressed if I do that. I close my eyes lightly, blocking out the dull yellow, windowless walls. The room is claustrophobic, airless, and that's without other bodies in here. Why couldn't they ask their questions in the comfort of my own home, for God's sake?

'Because it's bad,' the voice in my head answers.

'Oh, God. What's coming?'

My eyes spring open at the sound of the door.

I guess I'm about to find out.

MY THOUGHTS: The Serial Killer's Wife is not bad, but it is rather ordinary. It is slow, particularly so in the first half. There are a few twists in the second half, but other than one OMG! moment, there was nothing that I didn't see coming. And that was a problem for me. I kept waiting for some great unexpected revelation, some surprise, but it didn't happen.

There is a distinct lack of suspense, always a problem for me, and I didn't relate to the characters at all. There was no depth to any of them, and the dialogue was equally as shallow.

I liked the fact that there were three different people narrating this audiobook. However, their voices weren't particularly expressive. At times they sounded like they were reading a telephone directory.

The whole book felt rather flat. The premise is wonderful and clever, but the author just didn't pull it off. The Serial Killer's Wife might have earned a whole three stars if it weren't for that final chapter because, despite my comments, there was never a moment where I considered not finishing it. The final chapter was totally extraneous, and totally pointless. Sometimes less is more.

⭐⭐.5

#TheSerialKillersWife #NetGalley

I: @alicehunter_author #harpercollinsaudio #harpercollinsaudiobooks

T: @Alice_Hunter_1 @HarperCollinsUK

#audiobook #contemporaryfiction #crime #domesticdrama #psychologicalthriller #serialkillerthriller

THE AUTHOR: After completing a psychology degree, Alice Hunter became an interventions facilitator in a prison. There, she was part of a team offering rehabilitation programmes to men serving sentences for a wide range of offences, often working with prisoners who'd committed serious violent crimes. Previously, Alice had been a nurse, working in the NHS. She now puts her experiences to good use in fiction.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins Audio via Netgalley for providing an audio ARC of The Serial Killer's Wife written by Alice Hunter and narrated by Sarah Paul, James Mcnaughton, and Kristin Atherton. All opinions expressed in this review are my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

I absolutely LOVED this audiobook!
Before listening, I read the physical book and it very quickly became a favourite thriller of mine, but if audiobooks are more your bag, this is brilliant.
The narrators are fantastic, really brought the characters to life. And I always personally love a multi-narrator audiobook for a similar reason, and these all work well together.
I will be keeping my eyes open for more titles from this author as I thoroughly enjoyed this audio and physical book.

I enjoyed this. In my opinion it did not quite match the blurb and I found some of the new friends the protagonist was making slightly curious but it all made sense in the end. Lots of interesting lines to explore in terms of discussions about morality for a book club.

This was a fab audiobook to listen to - the storyline was good but the fact there was a male voice and a female voice was so much better and added to the experience. I don't want to say too much because it gives the ending away - I was expecting a twist which I got!

This domestic thriller is well plotted making it difficult to guess who’s the unreliable narrator. Tom, Beth and daughter Poppy seem to have the perfect life. The illusion is shattered when police arrive at the home to say that Tom has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his former fianceé some 8 years earlier. I don’t want to give away any plot details, but with a cast of very carefully drawn characters,Alice Hunter tells an engaging, taut and plausible tale. It’s a belter of a debut and I’d certainly look for further titles by this author.

The story switches between three narrative points; Tom, Beth and the deceased Kate. It’s a skilful way to very cleverly reveal past events, secrets, deceits and hints of psychotic behaviours. There are twists and turns and a final revelation that is hinted at earlier, but came as a surprise.

I had an audio version and it’s well narrated, although for me, Beth’s ‘voice’ was occasionally irritating as the diction was slightly drawn out and overlong. I haven’t reflected that in my rating as it’s the story that counts. My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.