Never Trust the Husband
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Author: Jessica Payne

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Bookouture and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Every night I watch Benjamin and Gwyn in their gorgeous, glass-fronted Seattle home. Your ex-husband. Your best friend. Newly engaged, they’re busy dreaming of their future.

The official story is that you disappeared, but I know the truth. They killed you.

I know Benjamin’s new business is in trouble, that he desperately needs your money. I saw the way Gwyn looked at him at your wedding reception, finding any excuse to be close, to laugh too loudly at his jokes. After all, she always wanted your perfect life.

But don’t worry, Madeline. I won’t let it end like this. I can see everything from my place in the shadows between the trees. With their house lit up, they are on display. I’ll bide my time and worm my way into their home, their lives. They will never know the truth about who I am.

You didn’t get your happily ever after, and neither will they…

My Thoughts: I have read every one of Payne’s novels. Payne has a way with the embedding of her twists that really is thought-provoking. I stumbled upon her by accident on NG and have ever since looked out for her new novels. This one is no exception with a very compelling plot line. “Rebecca” is laying in wait, just watching Madeline’s ex husband and best friend build her life, her happily ever after. Except Madeline is no longer here because someone killed her and Rebecca will make it her dying breath to figure out who, why, and how. Three years after Madeline’s disappearance, Rebecca starts to investigate. There were assumptions made about how Rebecca plays into this storyline. Rebecca is engaging in a very dangerous cat and mouse game with a lot of unknowns.

The story is narrated by “Rebecca,” in the present, and Madeline in the past, both of whom are unreliable at best. The story opens up with a bang in the prologue. We have several characters, they are all fairly well identified and easy to follow. Madeline, wealthy heir who never thought she would be tied down. Benjamin just caught her attention on a girls night out and fascinated her in ways no other man could. The whirlwind romance ends up in a beautiful wedding. Benjamin states a honeymoon is off the table right now due to a storm, so they decide to take a hiking trip with their closest friends. During this trip, Madeline disappears, then the book skips to almost three years later. I do want to mention here that belief has to be suspended a bit for this storyline but I did not mind. The characters were well developed with depth, mystery, a healthy dose of suspicious behavior, passion, and were creatively curated. The author’s writing style was complex, twisty, suspenseful, and well paced. The characters were built up and developed, a healthy dose of red herrings, and then the plot was delivered in twisty layers. Even assumptions had twists in it and the ending was one that was unpredictable, exciting, captivating, and had more twists in the ending.

This story was captivating, gripping, compelling, dark, and disturbing psychological thriller that will keep you on your toes. The storyline had secrets, betrayals, and lies, always a fantastic combination for a thriller. I would say up reading because I had to see what happened at the end. Payne did not disappoint in this fourth novel of hers. I highly recommend for other readers to pick up. This book is available on KU.

Very clever story with some major twists! Nothing is what it seems.
Just when you think you know what's going on, everything tilts slightly, right up to the end.
I found it hard to put this book down.

Never Trust the Husband was one of domestic thriller I really anticipated this year. The synopsis instanly grabbed my attention and the plotline wasn't sound lazy. And chance to get strong revenge story is filled me with tension.

Sadly the final result wasn't reach it is full potential. I enjoyed the writing style, it is accessible and easy to follow. The characters less fleshed out for me. Some part of plots are overdramatic, repetitive and unbelievable. It is like I cant questioning anything if I want keep the plot going on.

I still found this book is predictable but entertaining enough with twist and turn for the fans of the genre.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for providing copy of this ebook. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Expecting Publication : 5 March 2024

I surprised myself by how much i liked this book!

It was twisty and tense in all the right places. I had a guess at what was going on and i was sort of right but nope! I got the wool pulled over my eyes completely.

I love books that have a dual timeline and/or different POVs and this book did that really well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this review.

Having previously read one of Jessica's books , I couldnt wait to dive into this one. I really love the way she writes. With themes of jealousy and revenge a combination that will have you flipping those pages.

The story is told between Maddy (from the before) and Rebecca (from the now) … Maddy tells us her story about how her and Benji got together where as Rebecca is an old friend, changed her appearance, name, everything. Her aim is to find out what really happened back then, and get her revenge.

Never Trust The Husband was a slow burner to start off with, but that’s not a bad thing, it gives way to lay the back story for us, introduce us to the characters and form our connections and judgements.

I was hooked really early on in the story, as nosey as I am… I NEEDED to find out what happened.

Who did this?

I felt a good connection with each of the main characters, Maddy as she was. Benjamin and even Gwyn. I didn’t want to believe they could be so callous and sinister. As the arm chair detective that I am, whilst reading these pages my mind is working overtime to try and figure it out, because clearly it had to be someone else? Right?

AND…. Then I’m come the twists!!

Not just any twists!

Those jaw dropping. SHUT THE FRONT DOOR type twists.

One after the other, like a blind loopy de loop rollercoaster.

Needless to say, this book was incredible. The characters were written perfectly. Who do you trust? You like them all!!

This is most certainly a book to add to that TBR for all the psychological thriller lovers out there!

This was a readable and twisty thriller - it surprised me at how good it was! Twisty and well-written.

Easy read - although a little slow at the beginning. The character of Rebecca/Madeline seems slightly askew with her motives.

I also find it unusual that she trusted Kip even though he knew the whole length of the story what Elena was up to, but didn't tell Rebecca. "Oh I wasn't 100% sure so I didn't say anything when you appeared at my doorstep half dead? That was the major plot whole for me. Besides that good suspense story.

Also perhaps you should know whom your sister dated? or should've found out who the ex was? Overall the main character was a little naïve for my taste.

Love her books and flew through this one! Madeline was pushed off a cliff on her honeymoon trip with other friends there and husband, Benjamin has moved on with another woman fairly quickly. And in another scenario, Rebecca is a travel nurse and has her own issues with her boss as well as a crush on her neighbor, Chris. In this wonderfully convoluted--my favorite kind--plot these two crazy storylines merge as we meet many devious and strangely conniving characters that each have their own agendas that can't possibly be connected...or can they?
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

This is my first book by the author and she didn’t disappoint me at all.

You’ll meet Gwyn, the backstabbing best friend who killed Madeline, and Benjamin; the cheating husband. Now they are together but Madeline is no longer in the picture.

Thought the first half of the book, I was curious about Rebecca. What’s it to her about Madeline? Who’s Madeline to her? So you’ll get know while reading this book step by step.

I was completely captivated from start to finish! If you are looking for an addictive and unputdownable psychological suspenseful thriller then this is the book for you!

I received this book as part of a book tour. I haven't read anything by this author and I was pleasantly surprised. I was intrigued by the plot and enjoyed the read. It was a perfectly paced thriller that had characters that you both loved and disliked. I am excited to see what this author has for the future!

I really enjoyed this, fast paced with good character development and some decent twists and turns! A great thriller read and one I would definitely recommend.

Never trust the husband. I like stories from different viewpoints so you don’t know who to trust or who is narrating. There was a lot of guessing in this book. But parts weren’t realistic to me. Madeline is murdered and years later her sister befriends the people that she thinks did it, Madeline’s husband and best friend. But how quickly she becomes friends with them is weird to me. They meet once and all of a sudden she’s invited into their house and knows their whole life. She changed her appearance with plastic surgery so they don’t recognize her. I did guess the ending before it go to it.

WoW this book Never Trust the Husband by Jessica Payne is a psychological thriller and was so good I could not put this book down once I started to read it, especially as it had me guessing till the very end. It was fast paced and with lots of twists and turns throughout which made it a rock ride......I loved it.

I highly recommend this book and its a great book for your day off or your holiday.

Big Thank you to Netgalley and especially Bookouture for my early ARC.

What a great, twisty story this was. Told in multiple timelines and multiple perspectives, this book was unputdownable. Completely addictive. Had me glued to the pages late into the night! Loved it!

Madeline was pushed off a cliff while on her honeymoon with her new husband and closest friends. A few years later and her husband and best friend Gwyn are engaged and she’s living in Madeline’s house. Rebecca knows Madeline’s death was no accident and is determined to worm herself into their lives to find out who killed her and why. Someone needs to pay for what happened.

Although I did figure out some twists early on, there was some that were still shocking at the end.

I love Jessica Payne books but this one was a little slower for me but I did end up loving it. There is a lot of jumping back and forth between timelines from the past and the present but I thought it fit this story well.

Thank you Bookouture for my copy.

In "Never Trust the Husband," we're introduced to Madeleine, who seemingly has it all: beauty, wealth, great friends, and a devoted fiancé. However, her life takes a tragic turn when she vanishes over a cliff, never to return. While I found the book enjoyable, I was able to predict the ending.

I am going to start this out and be completely honest, the beginning of this book was a drag. I thought that this book would have way more of a wow factor from the beginning, but it didn't really pick up for me until around the middle. It was a lot of explaining and backstory to me, and I am more of a person who likes to be immersed in the story from the start. I do have to say that the ending had me a little bit surprised. I did not see that coming!

If you are someone who enjoys psychological thrillers, but doesn't mind waiting for the book to gain momentum then you should definitely give this one a shot.

Thank you Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

DNF at 40%.

I've loved Jessica's previous books, but this one just felt a little off to me. I didn't love the back and forth between Madeline and Rebekah and honestly found myself bored. I think if the pace may have been a little quicker it would have kept me entertained.

I finished this book in one sitting. It kept me wondering and questioning, did he really do it, did she? What a surprise this was. I really enjoyed it. This was my first by this author, and I would definitely look for more from her!