I couldn’t put this down, so immersed did I become in the mystery of who killed newly-married Lauren. I was desperate to find out and kept reading into the small hours. Sue Watson has an immensely readable style that kept me totally hooked. I loved the brooding, isolated setting of Lauren and Sam’s cottage in the depths of the moors, and the way the author played with my assumptions. A great read!

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Georgie is a single mom to 26 year old Sam. Sam is marrying his nursery school sweetheart, Lauren, and everything is perfect because Georgie has been best friends with Lauren’s parents, Helen and Tim, for many years. Three months into the marriage, Lauren is found dead in their cottage and suspicion that Sam is guilty tears apart their long standing relationships.

This was a one day read for me and probably my favorite of the 5 books I have read from this author. There were just enough characters to keep me guessing. There were twists and turns and new info being discovered, which held my interest. I really enjoyed this one and look forward to Sue Watson’s next book.

I enjoy this author’s books and this one doesn’t disappoint.

Georgie’s son Sam has married his childhood sweetheart Lauren, but three months later Lauren lies dead. Is Sam to blame for her death or is there something more sinister going on? When Sam is arrested and charged with murder, Georgie will do anything she can to prove her son’s innocence.

A great thriller with a good twist.

I read a lot of thrillers and a lot of twist and still couldn't have guessed this one!! I needed to know more the second I picked up this book!! I suspected everyone and no one lol. The characters all come to life. Everyone has faults everyone has secrets!!

This is the first Sue Watson novel I've read and it certainly won't be my last. This fast-paced thriller had plenty of twists and turns throughout culminating in a super-charged ending.

Sam is finally marrying his childhood sweetheart, Lauren, and his mother Georgie couldn't be prouder of him. He'd grown into a caring, compassionate man nothing like his abusive father. She can't wait for Lauren to officially be the Daughter she'd always wanted and to have even more family to love. It really was Happily Ever After.

Until it wasn't. Just three months later, she gets a call from Sam telling her Lauren was dead.

As the investigation starts, she can't help but feel there's something not quite right about the way Lauren died. Sam won't even look her in the eye, and she's starting to notice things about him, about his marriage that she didn't see before. So when she gets a chance to do a little investigation of her own while looking after their empty home, she finds out her daughter-in-law wasn't who she thought. It looks like everyone she loved was holding onto secrets that could be deadly … it's too late for Lauren, but hopefully not for her and Sam.



"Who really knows what a person could do, until they are tested?"



Sue Watson has always had a masterful control over the settings to her stories and this is no exception. In this gripping domestic thriller, Watson crafted the perfect location - using isolated, beautiful backdrops and contrasting it with horrifying events to keep the reader feeling very alone and in total suspense.

A real page-turner, full of whip-smart twists and misdirection, The New Wife truly keeps the reader guessing until the answer is right in front of you - leaving you suspicious of everyone and not knowing who to trust.

I'd like to say I figured out who the real suspect was - but that's only because I suspected everyone at one point or another.

This hard-hitting, sinister story explores just how far people are willing to go for the people they love. We see the families fracture, each manifesting their grief and anger in different ways and not sure who's grieving and who's feeling guilty.

The Princess of Plot Twists strikes again with this one!

I really enjoy author Sue Watson’s novels, well written, interesting characters, totally addictive and this latest offering is no different.

Georgie is a single parent and has raised her son Sam alone following the breakup of her turbulent marriage. Sam is marrying his childhood sweetheart Lauren and Georgie couldn’t be happier. A dream couple but the nightmare begins when only weeks later, Lauren is found dead and the police are investigating. Sam is questioned by the police and Georgie senses he is hiding something so decides to do a little digging of her own. She goes to Sam and Lauren’s house to have a look around and discovers that her daughter in law was hiding a dangerous secret. With suspicion pointing at Sam, Georgie looks to prove her son’s innocence but her investigations could put her life in danger.

This is a fast paced novel will keep you guessing, lots of suspects, secrets and twists along the way make this an addictive read.

I would like to thank both Net Galley and Bookouture for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I have a hard time reading thrillers where I am constantly worried someone is going to die or get hurt. This book was enjoyable as the “thriller” was more about what happened and who did it. There were not a huge cast of characters so I bounced different ideas around while reading but normally I prefer to just let the story unfold. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found myself picking it up to read at times I really needed to be doing other things. I loved the big happy family concept with open doors to others to make them feel a part of things. Then the further you got into the story the facade starts to unravel. It’s frightening really to find out those you’ve known for years may have a completely different side to them. I very much recommend this book. It will keep
You up at night and make you look twice at people you thought you knew. I closed the final chapter wanting a sequel and will miss these characters.

Oh this was awesome and I did not want to put it down!! I loved all of the characters, but especially Sam, Kate, and Sadie! A character driven story set amongst an eerie backdrop, I loved The New Wife!!

A powerful thriller that kept me guessing and threw me off the scent. I really thought that I figured out several times but I was wrong.. A lot of suspense. There are so many bad thrillers out where so this one really stood out for me and the suspense is nicely built up. I highly recommend it.

A few comments: a vital clue is introduced early in the book and then the additional piece of information connects the dots later on for readers but Georgie remains oblivious. So I found the next few chapters frustrating waiting for her to connect the dots, and I wish Georgie wasn't so slow. Also Helen seems a horrible person to be friends with. How can you not know the true character of someone after decades of spending almost every day / weekend together and living 5 minutes apart? That made me scratch my head. Lastly, I found Georgie quite perceptive of people and very intuitive when interacting with others. The development of other characters based on her observations were quite good! So it is hard to believe that she is then a person who takes everything at a face value. So I didn't think of Georgie being naïve at all but perhaps some people are very good at faking it.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy.

Awww this twisty, page turner is a must for psychological thriller fans!
Story starts with Sam Moore and Lauren Jackson getting married; as Lauren’s mom likes to say the beginning of the Jackmoore family. These two have been BFF since nursery school. Sam’s mom Georgie a single parent (never married) and Lauren’s Mom and Dad, Helen and Tim are also friends.
However, three months after the big day, Sam called his mom with horrible news that Lauren is dead. She has fallen down their steep spiral staircase unto the marble floor below. It seems like an accident. However, it ruled a homicide and Yep Sam is the prime suspect.
Story does a lot of back ground on the characters ~ that sets us up for a great psychological thriller!

I read enough psychological thrillers ~ so I know four things:
> Expect twists and twist and turns!
> Be suspicious of everyone!
> The most obvious person didn’t do it!
> There will be many secrets!
Awww Yes! : Sue Watson , Didn’t disappoint!!!
Looking forward to my next Watson read!
The end of the book not only has list of Sue Watson’s novels but a sneak preview of sixteen of her stories.

Of course, I enjoyed her 'Acknowledgements' always fun to read the background on what inspired the author to write their story ~ she says she is always picking up little treasures and takes them back to her writing nest'!


Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for this uncorrected eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for November 19, 2021

This was really easy to read - a fast-paced story that wasn't too bloated down by an overlarge cast (which has been the case with a lot of thrillers I've read recently, where they want to keep you guessing). That's my biggest compliment; it was a real page-turner and exactly what I needed while in isolation.

I think that my biggest criticism is that I thought that the protagonist was extremely naive. I just did not buy her as an actual woman with an adult son, she felt like a foolish person in their early twenties (speaking as someone in their early twenties), and it was a little frustrating to read about. However this isn't unusual for the genre, so if you read a lot of thrillers this shouldn't bother you.

Additionally, I felt like the plot would have been a lot stronger if there was more of a mystery. Maybe if the protagonist started to seriously consider that it might have been her son - or at least, let the audience think it might have been him. The character she suspected was so much of a red-herring that this added to my frustration - the fact that she suspected her all along, kept reiterating how terrible this person was made it extremely clear that this wasn't going to be the person in the end. I also think the story could have been better if we'd seen more positive interactions between the married couple all along. Everyone talked about how perfect they were together, but we only had a short time with them on the page and in those scenes they were mainly annoyed with each other. It would have made me more invested emotionally.

Sue Watson’s The New Wife is a story about secrets, family, and lies. It’s the story of newlyweds Lauren and Sam Moore and their families. This wonderfully written, unpredictable book, told from Sam’s mother’s point of view, will have you on the edge of your seat as you try to guess what really happened one horrible night. What a great read full of mystery and suspense!

#TheNewWife #NetGalley
An unreliable narrator, creepy characters and a murder mystery plot makes it unputdownable.
The story revolves around Sam whose new wife, Lauren died three months after their wedding. The question is was it accident or murder? What happened on her last night? And if this is murder then who's the killer?
There are many creepy characters who make you confuse and force you to think in wrong direction like Helen, Lauren's mom who was not that lovely to her when she told her a terrible secret. Tim, her dad who had his own ways of seeing things. Sam, her husband, did he know something about his wife? Or Georgie, a single mother in law to Lauren who always wanted the best for her son. Was Lauren not that best?
Read this book to know all the answers.
For me, it was a good read. Despite of a slow start this thriller was able to put me on the edge of my seat. Although sometimes I felt that some scenes were stretched but that's ok if you're a Sue Watson fan, you can ignore everything and wait for the right time when the book picks up its pace.
I loved the characters of Helen, Georgie, Tim and Sadie. James was an interesting character but didn't have much to do in the story.
What I Liked? :-
1 The character and murder n plot, I'm a fan of Sue Watson and was expecting a good book from her and she didn't disappoint me.
2 The narration, simple and definitely engaging.
3 The twists were coming one after another.
What I Don't Like?:-
1 The cover and jagged line. I personally think that the jagged line should be changed definitely because it felt wrong with the narration.
Overall it's a good read and you must read it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me an advanced copy of this psychological thriller.

This was a really twisty and turning ride that certainly keeps you guessing. I got into this form the first page and was hooked all the way through! I love this author!

Love is super
I have secrets
Death is sad
Secret secrets
But our friendship?
Secrets you don't even know about
Death is still sad
You know nothing of my secrets
My friends are weird
Shhhhhhhh, it's a secret
Omg! A murderer!

Childhood sweethearts Sam and Lauren get married and the future looks rosie.
A few short months later and Lauren is dead. The finger of suspicion seems to point to almost every character in the book at some point and just when you think you've worked it out you're led down another path and then another path.
The author writes books that are so easy to read and have the reader wanting to read just one more chapter.
First Date was my first read by this author and remains my favourite but this was another great book and I now need to go back and read her previous works.

I LOVED it! This book had my mind going in a million directions trying to figure out what was going on! The twists and turns almost gave me whiplash lol!! A crazy family drama/psychological thriller that is intense and keeps you guessing until the end. It peels away the layers of the relationships between two families bound by marriage and digs deep into their secrets and then rips them apart. Don't miss this book, add it to your list right now!!!

This was such an enjoyable read twisty and unpredictable that led you down a path of thinking that you knew what was happening and then completely changing. SO GOOD

Wow! Such a great read by sue Watson! I was enthralled, gripped and tantalised from the first page and couldn’t wait to see where the story was going! So many twists and turns my attention was held from start to finish as I was led to a shocking suspenseful ending that I hadn’t seen coming or anticipated in the least !
Newly weds Lauren and Sam have it all great careers, a lovely new home and supportive loving families and friends, what could possibly go wrong! Laura’s sudden unexpected death at home takes everyone by surprise and leads to a total unravelling of long standing relationships and friendships, wrongly accused and charged suspects, misguided loyalties, police corruption and a mothers mission to obtain the truth!
A great read that will keep you on the edge, full of tension, mystery and intrigue I couldn’t resist racing through it to find the unexpected conclusion!
Thank you netgalley for this early read.