Written as a series of interviews between a student completing her dissertation and a murderer serving her time for killing her husband.
The interviews dig into Emily's life and the events leading to her imprisonment.
Whilst the premise is good I found Emily a difficult character to get behind as she led her best friend into danger and continually put herself in situations she knew she should avoid. Some of this was explained by her childhood but in many places I just wanted to shout at her for being so consistently stupid.

Emily is in prison for murder. Naomi chooses to visit and interview her for her Phd dissertation. From these interviews we get to hear of how Emily ended up inside. This is very much a story of how how men abuse power to abuse women. I like the writing style of this book and the depiction of the characters. Some of Emilys actions are somewhat frustrating but I also believe that the characters early trauma led to these decisions in her life.
The story entertained and kept me engaged throughout. Highly recommended.

I started off loving this book but I’m afraid it didn’t last long. I found the timelines confusing, and I thought Emily was a very, very, stupid woman. She brought so much of what happened on herself and I had absolutely no sympathy for her. Some of her actions were unbelievable, and everything seemed to go on and on and on. There were contradictions in the story too. Just one example: in chapter 4 we read “I never breastfed Anouk.” Then in chapter 10 we read “I’ve been devoted to her – I breastfed …”. OK, it’s just a little error, but it only takes an error or two for me to question the professionalism of the author and to put me off a book altogether. Yes, I know I’m anal at times but I cannot stand to see mistakes in a book. There shouldn’t be any! There were several proofreading errors in this one too – ‘and but then’ is just one of them – and lots of incorrect punctuation. On the positive side I thought the actual writing was great. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc and I’m sorry I won’t recommending this one.

What a fabulous read! This is one of those books that you are dying to get to the end of but at the same time never want it to end! It grips you from the very beginning. Moving backwards and forwards throughout the lives of the characters the story unfolds with many unexpected twists and does not fail to deliver at the end. Suspense, drama, and betrayal keep you enthralled. Would make such a great tv drama

Emily grew up with her mum working hard and wanting to find a rich husband for security. Emily learnt lessons from this approach. From a young age Emily noticed men noticed her. Her life experiences and the men she as come into contact with means that her view of things doesn't match others and what will she do or be done to her to achieve what she tells herself she needs?
Really loved this book. Loved the way Emily is portrayed as a complex character. The other characters around her fitted too.

The second marriage is a real page turner. It is not at all what you think and the ending sure knows how to make you crazy.

This tells the story of naomi who visits her mums friend Emily who is in jail for the murder of her husband. Its about how emily ended up there. Told on multiple timelines. This interweaves the truth about being a women at night and in an man's world.
This gripped me from page 1 and became a binge read. I was convinced there was more to the ladies connection. The story was full of emotion and gripping. Each character was flawed and it was powerfully revealed. I was glad of the epilogue because although I was gripped I had gueesed the truth so the epilogue redemmed the characters for me.
I would highly recommend thus as a 5 star read. Thank you so much netgallery and publisher.

I wouldn't normally leave a review for a book I dislike, but I'm required to leave a review for NetGalley.

The only positive I can say is that this book was well written, but the story was terrible. I love empowering female characters, unfortunately the main character was far from it, even though it appeared that's how she was supposed to be perceived.

Instead, the hypocrisy and selfishness of this character was disturbing. I disliked many areas of this book, but I'll discuss two. First, she invited her friend, Anna, to the party knowing what the men expected at these private parties, although she didn't expect it would go to the extent that it did. Nevertheless, she never warned her friend, who she supposedly loved. How could somebody put someone they loved, or anyone, in that situation, knowing she would be abused and in this case, even worse.

Then, after her first marriage dissolves, she marries the disgusting man who abused and manipulated her as a young woman. She knows exactly what this man is like, but he's rich and she likes the great, violent sex they have. So, they are engaged, and she and her young daughter now live with him, allowing her daughter to live under the same roof with this sadistic man. What the hell is wrong with this woman?

I appreciate the parts of the story that discuss the struggle of women in relation to sexism, equality, etc. throughout the years, but the main character did little to impress me with her lack of concern for her friend and daughter because she wanted this man so much. I found it disgusting.

I do not recommend this book.

Domestic noir is my favourite psychological genre and The Second Marriage fits the bill perfectly. It is told from different timelines and the points of view of Emily Brigham, who is in prison, and Naomi, a young woman who interviews her as part of her PhD. Emily was a woman who appeared to have it all: a happy marriage and a daughter who she loves. But one day a former lover appears in her life and threatens to upend the status quo, revealing Emily's sordid past. Lots of twists and turns ensue, culminating in the murder for which Emily has been imprisoned. I especially liked the final twist when Naomi's true purpose is revealed. The writer covers some very topical issues relating to #MeToo and the way powerful men abuse and control women, with Emily hell bent on seeking revenge at all costs. Many thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book is interesting. It really pulls you in, in the beginning. As the book goes on, it definitely gets darker and uncomfortable. I definitely think there should be trigger warnings listed at the beginning of the book. If there had been, I wouldn’t have read this book. I did find myself skimming through some chapters, especially the uncomfortable ones. There were so many secrets and twists that it did make the book interesting. I was happy to be done with it and definitely won’t be reading it again.

Thank you NetGalley, Rebecca and Storm Publishing for the ARC!

This book was slightly disappointing for me as I though it was more of a psychological thriller when it seemed more of a drama with some thriller aspects. I was not really on the edge of my seat ever and there weren't any major bombshells that threw me. It was interesting in the plot but definitely important to read the trigger warnings ahead of time as there are some really dark and graphic scenes. I found myself skimming long chapters to push forward and just finish the book which is a sign for me that I'm getting bored with the plotline. The main character was pretty annoying too and at times I wanted to just yell at her to not be stupid. Not a strong showing and probably wouldn't recommend this book.

3.5* An engrossing read despite the absolute deserving beotch that was Brigham. The title is misleading, though.

Hmm. This is a hard one to review, as I hated Brigham and how she treated her friends at 'those parties', how she let her supposed BFF Anna down - then went on to name her daughter after her - how she manipulated people and events, lied, gaslit, schemed and colluded with Drew (shades of MuskRat there, methinks) and Liam. But, it was a strangely mesmerising read because I kept waiting for the shoe to fall, which it did in a too-quick, too-convenient manner, and for the other secret that Brigham alluded to, and I kept wondering how much further she could fall. Quite a lot, actually. But, at the same time, she didn't lie to herself - just others - and she was a Tiger Mom, so there was the tiniest bit of redemption in my book, no pun intended.

The book's title and blurb are misleading and had they been less so, I wouldn't have ended up reading it. I kept waiting for the second marriage that happened so belatedly that it came at 93% of the tale gone. It felt like an afterthought, not the subject of the tale or Brigham's plotted end game. It felt like she got lucky with 2 stupid guys and in vino veritas.

On the plus side, it was well written and the author made someone so unpleasant and unappealing strangely addictive.

ARC courtesy of Storm Publishing and NetGalley, for my reading pleasure.

This is a real thriller of a book from Rebecca de Winter. Her writing is excellent and she really tells a story well. I devoured it!

This book has it all: toxic relationships, drama, secrets, betrayal & heartache. A domestic thriller that will pull you in. Get ready for edge of your seat reading & a book you won’t want to put down.

I gobbled this thriller up, it was a terrific read. I need to investigate whether or not this author has further books. The story went in crazy direction and kept my attention the entire way through. It does have a few triggers that I may warn people before reading. The only negative I saw was sometime the timelines were a bit wonky and it was a bit hard to follow where I was. But small negative, overall it was a great read.

I loved this book! It drew me in from the start and although the story was dark, the characters were compelling. This is my first book by this author, but won’t be my last

An interesting way to tell the story. I wasn't sure about it at times, it occasionally felt stillted. But overall it was a good read. Some hard hitting subjects at times.

Emily has it all—a wonderful husband and a precious daughter. But behind it all is the secret that haunts her and could bring her perfect world down if her past were revealed.
She thought her past was behind her until she is suddenly approached by a former lover who could bring that world down by exposing her as the woman she once was. Emily is suddenly caught in a dangerous web of deceit as she desperately finds a way to protect herself and her child from the evils of her past. It is a gripping edge-of-the-seat thriller, full of twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the surprising ending.

3.5 Stars

It's a good story, it didn't entertain me so much during the development of the book; except for some fragments where I felt complete despair and frustration with the story of the protagonist. The ending was good 👍🏻🤩

Emily is a good woman who in her youth lived some strong experiences, so that explains the reason for her actions and her personality.

The interesting well-developed characters but my favorite was Emily.

Thank you Storm Publishing and NetGalley for providing me this ARC!! 👍🏻

Overall, the Second Marriage wasn’t my cup of tea, I appreciated the theme and direction but I never connected with the book.

The characters don’t act like actual humans act. People (and book characters) aren’t always logical but it happened too much to feel real. For example, Emily finds out her husband is cheating, she’s really upset but continues to hang out with the lady. Nope, that wouldn’t happen.

Emily is a "not like other girls" type of girl. She is unlikable but I didn't mind that much. She cannot accept the most logical conclusion and that felt grating after a while. This feeds back into the characters not feeling real.

Finally, there's lots of hopping between different years. The author added lots of cultural references and did so showing Emily's POV at that time. I love that. The problem is that some of the references don't match the dates. It happened so often that it distracted me, Here are some examples:

The gardener in Spring 2015 wouldn't make a TikTok. TikTok was created in late 2016 and wasn't popular until around 2019ish.

Emily references Leo Di Caprio's Great Gatsby movie in a chapter that happened in 2005. That movie wasn't out then.

There are other examples but I'll leave it there. I wouldn't normally notice these things but it made me second-guess all the references.

I appreciate the opportunity to review this book.