Usually “detective” stories fall flat for me; this book was SO much more than that!
Constant twists and turns and unanswered questions left me unable to put it down. It was well written, the characters had depth (particularly Rowan,) and I never knew who to trust until the very end.
Solid 4 stars!

I devoured this book in a single evening! Most of the story is told in Detective Rowan Velky's POV, and her character is so deep and so engrossing that she jumps off the page. I had to keep reading to know how her story would unfold. The plot is twisted and exquisite. Although I put some of the pieces together beforehand, I was still pleasantly surprised and thrown for a loop. I highly recommend this book. So good!

A Marriage Of Lies
By: Amanda Mckinney

3 Stars

I find this one a bit hard to review. It was a good story. It had all the promise of a fast-paced thriller, but I seemed to get lost along the way. It was complex and had quite a few characters. This did not help in trying to connect with them. It read at times like a journal and at others like a police procedural. It was shocking to boot. I just hated that most of these BIG SHOCKS all happened towards the end. Overall, the book did keep me guessing and reading and had a strong storyline, I just lacked a good reader/character connection.

*I want to thank Netgalley and the author for this book in return for my honest review*

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Review

I want to start by saying this book will be a 3-4 star for most other readers.

For me, it was a 2, 2.5 star read. It all boiled down to the writing style for me, and I think that's just personal preference, the writing lacked depth. This isn’t the beautiful prose of the classic thriller novels; this is definitely new-age writing found in fast fiction, fiction that is meant to be addictive for sure, but also for authors to be able to pump out multiple books a year. This gives Frieda McFadden vibes, although I think Frieda has a more substantive writing style. That being said, there were some excellent parts in this book that I liked!

The good
Fast-paced
Very easy to read
Suspenseful
A few twists that shocked me
The marriage dynamics are done well

The not-so-good
I could not get past the writing style; it took me out of the book for sure
The characters are overwhelming unlikeable and personally unrelatable to me

Wow! This book was incredible! I started reading this book and could not put it down, I devoured it in a day! Rowan is a detective and she has secrets. She knows her husband is lying to her, she can't trust him. Rowan is trying to solve murders of women that seem to be linked, based on crime scene evidence. But what is the killer trying to tell her? It seems a message is being sent and she's trying to figure out what it is and how these three women's murders are connected. While trying to work on this case she's also suspicious of her husband and trying to uncover what secrets he's hiding from her. The twists in this book kept coming! I read a lot of books in this genre and have gotten pretty good at figuring things out early on, but this was NOT the case for this one. This book is definitely worthy of 5 stars! This is my first Amanda McKinney read but it definitely won't be the last!

WOW!! This book made me feel like I was in Law in Order. OMG. It had me guessing with every page. I did figure it out towards the end but I was still shocked. It had great characters and great twists. This is a great thriller read. You will not want to put this book down. Must read.

Hello what a book! This one left me saying “what in the world!” If you want a book that leaves you shocked…put this one on your radar! I read this book so fast and could not put it down. Between the lies, entangled relationships, secrets, a haunted dark past…this book was addicting to read. I love plot lines where I can put on my detective hat to attempt to piece everything together. Between the short chapters, multiple POVs, and a twisty ending, this book is everything a thriller girlie wants!

For fans of Alice Feeney, Darby Kane, B.A. Paris! This one releases at the end of March! Add it to your TBR!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review!

This is not your typical thriller, it keeps you guessing right until the very last page, and I found myself hooked! Would definitely recommend

A marriage of lies: This exciting thriller has deadly secrets, lies and disloyalty. I could not put this book down. A must read!! Unexpected twist at the end!

Thank you Storm Publishers and Netgalley for this arc.

This was a fast paced, quick read. It hooked me from the beginning and kept me reading. I found the book to be well written and paced well. I liked the different point of views between characters. It had good plot twists that weren't outrageous. The ending wrapped up well, and I felt that everyone got their just desserts.

This was my first novel by this author and will definitely be checking out some of the others.

Really well written with different POV
Some unexpected twists in this bridgeable thriller
I would highly recommend

Thanks NetGalley and Storm Publishing for allowing me to receive an ARC.

This was my first book by Amanda McKinney and I am eager to read more by her. A very quick read but full of details and multiple plot twists. Great book for someone who is looking for a thrilling quick read.

This book is a story indeed about a marriage of lies… but which marriage has the lies?

We are introduced to two couples; Rowan and Shepherd and Amber and Mark, with a few other characters thrown in between and they are questionable as well! I wondered how the characters would interact and where and how they knew each other.

The book starts off with a bang and keeps on going with many twists and turns.

I was I was pretty sure I knew how it would end midway and I was completely thrown off track! Brilliant!!

This was the first book that I’ve read by Amanda McKinney and I definitely will be getting more of her books to read!

Thank you NetGalley, Amanda McKinney and Storm Publishing for granting me access to this book.

This is a riveting tale of marriage, family, betrayal, revenge, and the dark secrets that lie hidden beneath the surface. This domestic thriller will keep you guessing until the final page, absolutely brilliant!

Do you ever really know what goes on inside a marriage? Detective Rowan Velky's marriage is a tangled web of lies that have turned deadly. Rowan is investigating three gruesome murders with her partner Kellan, all the while trying to piece together her crumbling marriage. What was once an intense, inseparable bond, has turned into lies, deception, and a murder.
With multiple narrators, flashbacks, and complex and relatable characters, this one had me glued to the pages. The perfect back-and-forth between crime scene investigation and domestic drama with emotionally charged twists. I loved this dark and twisty thriller! This is my first @amadamckinney book but it will not be my last. I can't wait to check out her backlist!

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and overall I really enjoyed the book. With that being said, the synopsis of the book says, “he thought I wouldn’t find out, I’m a detective” so I figured out the twist very early on. But I feel the writing is strong, the character development was great and really liked it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy!

This was one book I couldn't put down and finished in one day. The entire story is full of twists and suspense wondering what will happen next keeping you on your toes. Detective Rowan is in a loveless marriage to her husband Shep who she has known since they were kids in the foster care system. She throws herself in her work trying to solve the murders of three women each with the letter "X" portrayed on the victims somehow but what is the connection? You also meet Amber and her husband Mark who also seem to have issues in their marriage and dealing with news that their son could possibly have developmental issues. There does seem to be two main characters Detective Rowan and Amber, who is a therapist, with different stories and two POV but then further along in reading you figure out how they click and it makes sense. I thought the book was written well and makes you hold interest with asking questions, how are the characters related, who knows more then they are leading on, how far will some go to honor their past.

Thank you Amanda McKinney, Storm Publishing and NetGalley for this digital ARC
Book release date March 29, 2024

Very mixed feelings on this book for me.
The pros:
Writing style
Some good twists I didn't see coming
I felt invested with most of the characters
Pacing of the book

The cons:
Several plot points were just a bit too much of a stretch to be believable at all
A lot of POVs got confusing

Giving this one 3 stars because it did keep my interest

This book hooked me from page one. Every single guess that I made as I was reading was completely WRONG! A great thriller that had me on the edge of my seat!

I devoured this in less than 24 hours! Definitely did not expect the plot twists that came with the ending but they were SO good. I hadn’t read anything by this author before and will definitely be adding more to my TBR. Thank you for the ARC!