Sam and Lauren met on their first day in nursery school. Now, in their mid twenties they have just got married and moved to their beautiful, but secluded cottage in Devon.
On the surface, things couldn't be more perfect. Sam and Lauren have everything going for them, including the fact that their mothers also became best friends when they met all those years ago and their two families have been close ever since.
Then tragedy strikes and Lauren is found dead.
Sam is immediately the prime suspect.
Georgie, Sam’s mum, is determined to prove her son’s innocence and in her determination to do so, her whole life begins to unravel. The people who have been as close to her as family all have secrets and none of them are the people that Georgie thought they were.
Is Sam telling the truth? If he is, then who did murder Lauren. Or was it all just a tragic accident.

This story doesn’t pause for breath from page one right to the very end. It twists and turns in an action packed page turner.

As a mother, I loved Georgie’s determination and belief in her son. I also felt sympathy for Lauren’s mother Helen, who understandably struggles to cope with the death of her daughter and the burden of all the secrets that she keeps hidden.

Generally, I'm guilty of sticking with books that are safe. Books that I know will be light and fluffy. So this was a bit of a step out of my comfort zone, but I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed reading a book from a different genre.

Well written, gripping, emotional and bursting at the seams with edge of your seat content.

The ending did leave me feeling a little ‘aaarrrgghhh’, but over all a fabulous read.

Excellent narration by Tamsin Kennard.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With thanks to #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an audio ARC of #TheNewWife by #SueWatson.

🎧BOOK REVIEW🎧 🌟🌟🌟🌟
PUB DATE: Nov, 19, 2021 / AUDIO: 10 hours 40 min

I’ve purchased a few books by Sue Watson and they are still on my tbr pile. This is the first book that I’ve read and it was an audiobook. The narration of “My New Wife” was wonderful and I was blown away! This story was filled with twists, shocks, and whopping surprises. And the ending was utterly unpredictable. I listened to the book in one day because I had to know how it ended. There were a few twists that I was able to predict, but I wasn’t even close when it came to figuring out the killer! I narrowed it down to a few suspects, but I wasn’t even close, lol.

I need to find time to read the other books I have by this author. And I hope they are as good!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this audiobook. This review is my honest opinion.

#thenewwife #suewatson #bookoutureaudio #netgalley #tbrbingo2021 #thrillerafterthriller #advancedreadingcopy #inexchangeforreview #lovetoread #bookreview #coloradobookstagrammer #coloradoreader #addtoyourbookpile #bookrecommendation #bookworm #fortheloveofbooks #novemberreads #kindleread #justfinishedreading #psychologicalthriller #thrilleraddict #thrillersofinstagram #readingaddict #readersofinstagram #fortheloveofbooks #bookaholic #booknerd #bookworm
#somanybookssolittletime

So I've been on a mad tear with audiobooks lately, which is highly unusual for me as I tend to get bored when listening and drift off, only to join back in 10 minutes later with no idea of what's happened. However, my recent listens have been fantastic and this one was no different! I was hanging on every word, listening as the story of Lauren's murder unfolded with all its twists and turns, and I feel like there were plenty. You could tell the author was trying to direct your attention to one particular "suspect" so I figured it wasn't that person but I was still surprised at the ending. I would definitely recommend this book to a thriller/suspense lover!

One thing that was really distracting is how Georgie reminds you of Sadie's terrible teenage years every time they're in the same room. We heard you the first time! The sister, Kate, has a little bit of character development, but in the end remains an eavesdropping teenager who is more of an annoyance than a character that adds much to the story. There's a good bit of mystery around James' character. Both Georgie and Helen are unlikeable - the former for her naivety and the latter for her booze-soaked self-absorption. Interesting twist to wrap it all up in a bow.

A mysterious death occurs, family starts pointing fingers, but as we know, things are never as they seem.

Georgie, a single mom who raised her son Sam, is so excited that he is now married to the love of his life, Lauren. But Georgie starts to pick up on hidden conversations at family gatherings that make her start to wonder if they are truly meant to be. Then Lauren is found dead at the bottom of their staircase and everyone starts to point fingers. Georgie is torn between defending her son & trying to figure out what actually happened.

While I enjoyed the storyline, it had a fairly predictable plot. It seemed the story was lacking a bit of something in the middle. The ending was well done. Overall, a solid audio book.

Thanks to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you @suewatsonwriter and @bookouture for this advanced audio copy of The New Wife in return for an honest review.

Description 🔖

Georgie’s son Sam is marrying his childhood sweetheart and girl of his dreams; Lauren. The two families have always been close and have always considered themselves to be one big family, but this marriage makes it official. Georgie is so proud of her son and of herself after raising him on her own.

The honeymoon period doesn’t last long. Lauren is found dead only a few weeks after the wedding and everyone is heartbroken. However behaviours start to appear suspicious. Georgie starts to worry when her son disappears to meet someone in secret immediately after speaking to the police. Lauren’s best friend Sadie has always behaved questionably but Georgie is looking at her even more closely now.

Georgie is desperate to find out what really happened to Lauren and who was really involved. To the point where she may very well end up putting herself in grave danger.

General Thoughts 🤔

I thought that this book was great. The storyline wasn’t overly complex and it was easy to follow, but it was tense and it burnt slowly which kept me reading/listening, eager to find out what would happen next. There were twists and turns in the book that took me by surprise a couple of times, however ultimately I had guessed how the book was going to end. I wasn’t at all disappointed mind, it was a brilliant way to conclude the story.

Characters 👫👬👭

The whole book was written from Georgie’s perspective and told through her voice so she was naturally the character that I felt like I knew the most. She seemed to be a lovely lady who just wanted the best for her son and lived to ensure that he was happy and successful in life. There were times when I felt quite frustrated by her as she seemed scared to stand up to the Jacksons and defend not only her son but herself. However I also appreciate that she was under an immense amount of stress and probably felt the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Lauren’s mother Helen was a character I felt an immense amount of sympathy for. She was submerged in grief after her daughter’s death but as the story started to unravel, I was left wondering whether she was grieving just her death or a life that she herself had missed out on. Out of all of the characters in the book, I think that Helen’s secrets were the biggest and affected the most lives and this was why she thought her only option was to numb her pain with alcohol.

Writing Style ✍️

I liked that the whole story was told from Georgie’s point of view. It was an interesting choice as it could have been told from many of the characters perspective. On reflection, I think that Georgie was the only one who wasn’t harbouring a huge secret and didn’t have anything to hide so maybe that was what influenced the choice.

I really enjoyed the pace of this book. It wasn’t fast but wasn’t too slow that I lost interest. I was hooked once I started listening and then the slow burn unfolding of the story had me reaching for my headphones at every opportunity.

The narration of this book was fantastic. Tasmin Kennard did a great job of becoming Georgie and capturing her thoughts and feelings through the narration. I found her really easy to listen to.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖️

I liked this book when I was listening to it and then once it was done and I had had time to reflect, I loved it. I was engrossed from the very start but it grew and grew the further into the story I got. If you’re interested in this book I would definitely recommend the audio book as it was a great listening experience.

Single Mum Georgie is best friends with Helen and her husband Tim. Their kids have grown up together and as expected Georgie's son Sam and Helen's daughter Lauren get married. Three months later Lauren is dead and Sam is the prime suspect. Who dunnit? Thrown into the mix are Lauren's best friend Sadie, Helen's younger daughter Kate and Georgie's new flame James.

Together the characters make for a neat guessing game till the end. If you are a fan of domestic suspense thrillers like The Gone Girl or The Wife Between us, this book will definitely be of interest. I listened to the audiobook and it was entertaining and an easy listen. The story starts slow but once you cross the midway mark you wont want to put it down. This was my first try on a Sue Watson thriller and I'm definitely intrigued enough to check out the others.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the advance copy in exchange for a review.

Sue Watson never disappoints, and this was no different. This book had me thinking I had it figured out so many times, but I never did. Well written and the narration of the audiobook was also great. Definitely recommend for anyone who enjoys a dramatic thriller.

This is such a gripping psychological thriller. I genuinely couldn't wait to hear my latest instalment of this audiobook, it was rightfully devoured at any given opportunity!

This story is told primarily from the perspective of Georgie, Mum to 20 something Sam. Sam has recently married childhood sweetheart Lauren, and Georgie couldn't be more delighted, being that Lauren"s parents are her best friends.

The newlyweds move to a remote location and Lauren feels a little unsettled by the remoteness. Within months we learn of the tragic death of Lauren, alone in the home at the time of death. Was it an accident?,A random attack?

Eventually we learn the answers to the questions, but for the detectives on this case the path to success is far from linear and, gratifyingly, there are multiple twists and turns on the way!

For those of us who love a good thriller I couldn't recommend this audiobook more, aside from the excellent plot and narrative, the narration is totally on point. My thanks to NetGalley, author, publisher and narrator for the opportunity to review this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This is one very twisted dark creepy well written story. It will keep you on the edge of your seat.

AudioBook provided by Netgalley

Really enjoyed this book, I kept changing my mind on the Killer.

Lauren who recently married Sam is found dead at the bottom of her stairs and it wasn't an accident. But who is responsible and why ?

The story is told from Sam's mother's perspective, Georgie is a single mother who met the Jackson's on Sam's first day of nursery, where he reaches out to Lauren as she is screaming and clinging to her mother. They become best friends and the two families do everything together.

When eventually Sam and Lauren get married, Georgie starts finding out all sorts of secrets. What has Lauren's best friend Sadie got to do with all this, does she want to be in Lauren's place, married to Sam, and what lengths would she go to ??

The twists and turns of this story will leaving you scratching your head, eight to the last word...

Great thriller! Loved the story and plot kept me guessing. Would definitely recommend! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

I thought this book was pretty damn good. As a mystery/thriller, the book keeps you guessing by shifting suspicion from one character to another. Told from Georgie’s PoV, the book provides some good twists and turns and keeps the intrigue going pretty much right to the end - Just when I thought this book couldn’t surprise me further, it did! On the basis of this book, I will probably read more of Sue Watson's books.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book - I enjoyed it immensely.

3.75

Childhood sweethearts Sam Moore and Lauren Jackson recently got married and moved to a rather remote cottage on the edge of Dartmoor. They were particularly seduced by the feature, circular marble staircase at the heart of their home After only a few months of marriage, Lauren has tumbled down them, to her death.

The story is told from Georgie's perspective, who is Sam's mother. As a single mother, she has brought up her only child within the comforting wrap of the Jackson family, who proved nurturing and inclusive as the children were growing up. A generous family who also took misfit Jade under their wing, and gave her emotional and financial support to enable her to make her way in life and a friend and companion to Lauren.

Georgie is best friends with Helen Jackson, Lauren's mum, and finds Lauren's dad a wonderful support in times of need. A suffocating and enmeshed environment, perhaps, but it transpires that Georgie has no sense of the real dynamics within that family - she has tappy-lappied along over the years, happy to be included in the family dynamics, bathed in their warm embrace (honestly, she comes across as a bit gormless when it comes to any deeper emotional understanding).

So, there it is. Lauren is dead, and now, going forward, how on earth do Georgie and the Jacksons come to terms with this terrible event, with their lives until now so intertwined? Tim (Lauren's dad) is doing what he can, Helen is drowning in drink. Foul play is mooted and it is a long while before anyone wakes up to the fact that Sam is more than likely to be in the frame for her murder - the police always look to the husband in instances like this; don't they?

I listened to this as an audiobook and it certainly kept me engrossed. It is only now writing it down that I feel it was just a little too far fetched for my taste, the secrets, twists and turns felt a little over played; however, great writing and storytelling.

So wild! I liked the character of Georgie and felt for her in her struggle throughout the book. Great story & plot!

The New Wife had me hooked right away. The story had a lot of twists and turns along the way. Georgie is the mother of a newly married man, whose wide dies just months into their marriage. Was it an accident or was she murdered? And if she was murdered, who did it and why? Georgie is the narrator and your perceptions of people depend on how she sees them at the moment.

I did eventually guess the culprit but that didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book.

I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title, which was very convenient. The narrator of the audiobook, Tamsin Kennard, did a great job and kept me entertained on a long plane flight.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book and listen to an advance copy of the audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The story is told from Georgie’s POV. She is the mother in law of Lauren who has recently died and now her son Sam is (Lauren’s husband) has been arrested for Laurens Murder.

Great idea for a novel but unfortunately it failed to deliver. Nothing really happens until about the 50% mark. This makes for a tedious read. The characters were interesting the idea of the story was interesting but it just took too long to get there. Not a book I enjoyed unfortunately. I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrator did a fantastic job, she was very expressive and had a great range. 2 star read.

Review of the audiobook narrated by Tamsin Kennard.
I absolutely loved this book, listened to it at any available opportunity, even got up earlier for work so I could squeeze in another half an hour!
I did like the protagonist on the whole, and she was excellently portrayed by the narrator. The other characters were a little annoying for me at times, but their personalities were central to the book.
I didn't guess the suspect, but then I was supsicious of everyone at some point!
I loved the narrator, she had an excellent speaking voice that was so natural and easy to listen to, and she made it a really enjoyable listen.
I did end the book rather upset, after hearing the after effects of grief described by Lauren's family. The loss felt by her sister echoed some of my feelings surrounding my own sister's death, and this was portrayed very accurately. It was an unexpected ending to a very gripping thriller.

Also posted to my Facebook and Instagram pages 'Curling Up With A Coffee and a Kindle.

This book is about two kids who grew up together, close families, kids get married. Shortly after the wedding, the wife is found dead at the end of their stairs. After some investigation, the police determine it is a homicide and arrest the husband.

Ok, so, for me this was a good book. The actual mystery was worth it but there ARE some "yeah, right" moments. A Bit of corny mixed in never killed anyone. I enjoyed the book.

My thanks to Bookouture Audio for making available a review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘The New Wife’ by Sue Watson in exchange for an honest review. It was narrated by Tamsin Kennard.

I have previously enjoyed Sue Watson’s novels and was pleased when Bookouture offered the audiobook as a ‘listen now’ as part of their recent on-line Audio Festival.

Georgie is a single mother and delighted that her son, Sam, has just married his childhood sweetheart, Lauren. In addition, Georgie has been close friends with Lauren’s parents, Helen and Tim, since their children met in nursery school.

Yet three months after the fairy tale wedding Lauren is dead. Naturally suspicion falls on Sam. Georgie is determined to clear his name as well as to discover the truth behind Lauren’s death. No further details to avoid spoilers.

I was quickly drawn into the narrative and keen to find out not only whodunnit but whydunnit.

With respect to the audiobook, I have enjoyed a number of audiobooks narrated by Tamsin Kennard. Her voice is deep and expressive and well suited to voice Georgie as she recounts the events.

Overall, I found ‘The New Wife’ well paced, addictive, and deliciously twisty. Exactly what I want from a psychological thriller.