Thank you Net Galley for an audio ARC of The Ex-Wives by Jenna Kernan. What a bone chilling book! I thought this exceptional!

Pub date: 10 Oct 2022

Thank you Bookouture Audio via Netgalley for the early audio copy to read and review.

This was a good psychological thriller.
OH.MY is Jackson INFURIATING. I can (almost, kinda?) see how Elena would fall into his trap; he is portrayed as being quite charming, says all the right things and claims to care about her. When she finds out about the ex wives (yes, ex wives plural), hence the book's title, as well as their missing daughters, she starts to realize his "caring" is more sinister. Like, he's a straight up controlling, abusive a$$hole. Several times during this story I shook my head or facepalmed at Elena's decisions (like SPOILER: don't freaking sign something without reading it while you're in police custody! END SPOILER) but could understand the fear of what impact her actions would have on her daughter. I also like that everything is tied up in a neat bow by the end; I was definitely rooting for her but some things she did....

I thought the narrator did a good job of distinguishing between characters so during a scene it was not difficult to keep straight what was happening. The narrator also put enough emotion and intonation into the reading that I felt it flowed really nicely.

Imagine you are in marriage and you find out your husband has two ex-wives and their are missing girls. Zoe, her daughter Phoebe and new husband Jackson are living a privileged life. However, Jackson is controlling and Zoe makes excuses for him.
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A lady from Jackson past warns Zoe, but should she believe him? She starts to doubt her husband when the FBI comes calling. They want to get information from her that corroborates Jackson has something to do with the missing girls.
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Zoe tracks down the ex-wives and finds out their daughters went missing. Jackson is pressuring Zoe to have a child! Who should she trust? Are these wives telling the truth? Just because he is controlling does that mean he would retaliate if his wives wanted out of their marriage.
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This audio is riveting. I loved her last novel The Adoption, and highly recommend both. This novel is due out October 10, 2022. Thank you @Netgalley, @bookoutureaudio and auhor @jennakernan for this advanced copy.

A very well written mystery, page turner & unpredictable.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC.

4 stars

This was my first Kernan read, and I expect there will be many others to follow.

Elana, the m.c., is the current wife, as opposed to the titular ex-wives, but they all seem to be facing the same problem: their jerk of a husband (or ex-husband, as the case may be). He's the type who has everyone under his thumb, mostly by virtue of his charms, so folks are really supporting his bad behavior. Elana has some past trauma, including the very early death of her first husband/father of her daughter, Phoebe, and she's excited to be starting a new life with this fellow, so it's no surprise that it takes her a beat to distinguish caring from creepy.

Readers may find themselves making correct guesses about a fair amount of what happens here, but there are some good twists, too, and best of all, Elana is no fool. Especially for this genre, and in light of the time jumps, she comes off like a traumatized but capable opponent, and that (the capable part) is always a joy to see.

I'm looking forward to reading more from this author and recommend the audio version of this book.

Thank you bookouture audio and netgalley for this opportunity. It was a wild one. Very sad as well couse of the children. But it was also about strenght, will to survive, to be better, to bit the bad. And that makes the book interesting. So many mistakes and love is blind. Brings us to do things witout thinking. And there are people who help.. Not all is bad and hopefully the good sometimes wins as well.

A huge Thank You goes out to Jenna Kernan, Boukouture Audio, and Netgalley for allowing me to listen to this audiobook prior to its publication day of Monday, October 10th. This psychological twisting thriller will make you rethink dating and/or marrying anyone, especially if they seem to have the world wrapped around their finger.

All is well in Elaina's life after she's found the man of her dreams, Jackson, who's both a wealthy Mayor of a small town and very connected with everyone in it. When FBI agents show up at her house one day to question her husband's knowledge of two missing children from his previous marriages, Elaina begins to question the man she knows. Her husband is quietly being investigated and suspected of the disappearances of two of his step-daughters from his ex-wives.

Jackson begins to grow more suspicious of what he thinks Elaina suspects of him, so he places a tracking device on her phone, car, and other devices to keep her in check at all times. When presented with her opportunity to flee this prison of a marriage, things go terribly wrong and she's stuck with her dangerous partner, who now knows his life is at stake as well but knows he can use Elaina's daughter as leverage to keep his wife put.

This book is a hot mess and should definitely serve as a reminder to listen to your gut if you're ever in a tricky situation, especially one with all of these red flags. Red flags never lie, and at worst, you're just being cautious and protective of yourself.

I liked this one! I listened to the audio version and finished it in under 24 hours. The narrator was great, distinguishing voices for all of the characters- and there were quite a few! Lots of twists and turns with a satisfying ending.