1⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for an advanced copy of Her Prodigal Husband.

Liesel has trauma from her past when she was a teenager babysitting and something happened to the child she was watching. Ever since then she has made it her life’s mission to help others. Her sister Alice has always tried to protect her especially when Liesel’s estranged husband shows back up after disappearing a decade ago. Liesel believes his story about being sick but Alice decides to find out why he is really back.

This book was the weirdest book I have ever read. I did not enjoy one thing about it. The characters were horrible and the storyline was way too complicated. I honestly feel like it is hard to even explain what went on in this book. I was not a fan.

Having read Becky Masterman’s Brigid Quinn books and enjoying them, I was excited to read “Her Prodigal Husband.” The book’s main characters are Alice and Liesel Einstein, two sisters nicknamed Malice and Lethal in high school. When the book begins, Alice is living in a guest room at Liesel’s home, writing greeting cards and working on a thriller. The author of three books already, Alice decides to make this new book part of the thriller genre.

Shortly after the novel starts, Liesel sends a text message to Alice that her estranged husband, Sam, has returned after ten years. Based on Sam’s history, as well as his disappearance for a decade, Alice is suspicious of his return and what the future entails. She enlists the help of Brigid Quinn, a private investigator with secrets of her own, that is an acquaintance of Liesel. Alice wants Brigid to investigate Sam and where he’s been for the past ten years and whether Liesel can trust what he tells her.

Liesel, meanwhile, has spent most of the years since Sam’s disappearance saving the money he left her, fostering dogs, and trying to help asylum seekers navigate the U.S. legal systems. She seems to take what Sam tells her at face value and doesn’t question what he says. Liesel also doesn’t seem interested in where Sam’s been for the past ten years.

Overall, this book didn’t work for me. The author’s writing style was not anything like what I remembered (and enjoyed) from her books focused on Brigid Quinn. The plot made no sense to me, at times, and some of Alice’s choices and actions were far-fetched. In fact, the few bright spots of the book for me were the ones involving Brigid Quinn and her interactions with Alice, Liesel, and Sam.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

So many secrets, lies and hidden agendas make this a book that should have been a winner. But the minute I opened the book I fell asleep. Not the goal the author was looking for. The characters just didn't grab me. Sam was clearly a loser. So why did he show up again? Taking the money and house would not save him. And to claim he was dying? If he was dying why would he need the money or the house? Just didn't make sense to me. The young sister seems spacy and the older one creates stories out of speculation. The storyline could have been amazing. But I was not amazed at all.

Her Prodigal Husband by Becky Masterman is a recommended domestic suspense novel.

Alice Einstein, a novelist who currently writes greeting cards messages, is living with her younger sister Liesl, in Saddlebrooke, Arizonia. When Liesl's wealthy ex-husband Sam suddenly appears after being gone for ten years, Alice's first thought is he will be kicked out of the house, but she sees kindhearted Liesl welcoming him back. Sam claims he has a fatal illness, but Alice has her doubts. Sam is a known liar. Alice ends up asking hardboiled private investigator Brigid Quinn, a friend of Liesl, to look into where he has been to help get rid of him.

The characters are all fully realized and portrayed as individuals, but other than Brigid, I didn't really care about any of them which made the all ready slow moving plot crawl along. Part of the problem is that Alice is the narrator and her character grated on my nerves. She never became an interesting or compelling character to follow. Interspersed between the action are excerpts of or thoughts about Alice's writing a thriller based on the current situation. They didn't add anything to the narrative for me, other than slowing it down.

The quality of the writing is good and has an interesting plot. There are twists and some humorous moments, which the dogs often help create. The actual narrative just moved too slowly and never held my complete attention. Additionally, inserted in the narrative are opinions concerning current political views, which diminishes and dates the novel. The final denouement had some surprises.

This is a spin-off from a series featuring Brigid Quinn, when she was with the FBI, and based on her character, I'd be interested in reading those novels. Her Prodigal Husband is a decent domestic suspense novel and will perhaps work better for other readers. Thanks to Severn House for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

This is my first book I’ve read from this author, and the verbiage and writing technique was highly desirable. This is definitely a slow burn and has you questioning a lot, but the ending was not enough bang for my particular taste. There was a lot of anticipation build up especially throughout with phrases such as “find this out later” but by the end I forgot what it was that was to be found out later. Overall I would say it a cute read.

I admit to being a fan of Brigid Quinn, the FBI SA turned PI who figures in many of Masterman's books-but if you haven't read the preceding novels, you'll still be fine with this as a standalone. However, know that it wasn't my favorite of the lot largely because I didn't like Alice who narrates. Sam. the husband of Alice's sister Liesel, has returned after years away and is claiming that he's ill but Alice wisely does not believe him and hires Brigid. This starts slow and then gets twisty with a historical angle that didn't quite work for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. No spoilers.

Alice Einstein - known as "Malice" to her former schoolfriends - likes to tell herself stories. There's a good one she's workshopping about how, despite once being a critically acclaimed literary novelist, she's ended up blocked and uninspired, living in her timid, conflict-averse sister Liesel's spare room.

But then Liesel sends her an SOS worthy of a thriller novel. The horror! The horror! Sam is back.

Sam, Liesel's wealthy ex-husband, vanished ten years ago, leaving her a chunk of money but no explanation. Sam is handsome, charming, manipulative . . . and now he claims he's sick. But Alice, with her experience of spinning tales, knows a liar when she sees one.

Haunted by a childhood tragedy that gave birth to the cruel nickname "Lethal", Liesel now specialises in saving dogs, children, sisters. Telling herself it's time she returned the favor, Alice engages the services of Brigid Quinn, a hardboiled local private investigator with a shady past, to help her get rid of Sam for good.

But as the plot thickens, Alice begins to wonder if she knows anyone involved - most of all herself - quite as well as she thinks . . .

Packed with quirky, colorful characters, and with a nail-biting, slow-burn plot, Her Prodigal Husband is a nail-biting novel of domestic suspense that raises thought-provoking questions about self-deception, the power of stories, and what it means to be a family, and marks the long-awaited return of Brigid Quinn, "one of the most memorable FBI agents since Clarice Starling"

Loved it. Will recommend it to others.

The book was very promising with great characters who are very relatable however the plot slowed down midway. It was like car going up hill and it stalled near the top. I wanted to like it but it had too much fluff in places.

This book just didn't do it for me. Slow and dragging. DNF as couldn't be bothered or interested enough in the story to finish

HER PRODIGAL HUSBAND by Becky Masterman.
Release date set for the 7th of January 2025
Thank you NetGalley and Severn House Publisher and the author for this ARC.
This is a spin off book from a series that i haven't read before.
Slow paced book for me and i struggled to stay engaged with it.
It's a good book it just wasn't for me that's all

An okay read but drug on… I finished but it was honestly challenging to finish. The story lacked depth and I felt like the characters were just missing something. Either way- not my favorite book.

I always recommend every read books and determine their review and opinion on their own.

The whole premise for this book is good but it's not well put together. The whole plot is slow, is tied up too quickly and as for the jumping around, that just confused me at bits. You were never sure if things were really happening or if it was in the main characters head. If you like a mystery that is slow paced with no murder, then this may be for you. But if you like fast paced mysteries then steer clear.

So many intricate pieces and complex characters! A very interesting and unique story line as well. I enjoyed it!

So this is a spin-off of a series written by this author. I didn't know that when I started it. The book was amazing, and makes me want to read the original series! This was a slow burn, but definitely a page turner!

Story started out a little slow. Told from Alice's point of view, the story bounces back and forth. I had trouble keeping up with some of the bouncing. As the story moved along things pick up and things begin falling into place. Some laugh out loud moments and a few dogs keeps it interesting.

I loved the Brigid Quinn books and was beyond excited to see there was a new one featuring the fearless retired ex FBI agent. That being said this book was not in the same league as the earlier ones— it was almost as if someone else had written it.
It took me ages to get into the story and I found the plot overly complicated with a denouement that was distinctly underwhelming.
I nearly put the book down several times but in the end decided to finish it as I was curious how it would all end. Indeed it did pick up a bit towards the end.
Alice and Liesl Einstein are two sisters who live together- Alice is an author who writes greetings card verses as she has had little success with her novels in recent years and Liesl devotes herself to good causes after her husband left her 10 years earlier. However as he was well off she has plenty of money and a lovely house.
When one day he turns up, claiming a fatal illness and wanting to move back in, Liesl accepts him. However, Alice is deeply suspicious of his motives.
She employs Brigid Quinn to investigate him and in the process discovers that all is not as it seems.
The premise of the plot is good but I just didn’t find the story engaging. I wasn’t particularly drawn to Alice who narrates the story and the sisters’ connection to Albert Einstein was not especially interesting.
That being said, I enjoyed meeting Brigid Quinn again and wouldn’t be averse to reading more about her, perhaps in a book written in the same way as the earlier ones with Brigid as the main character as she has a great self deprecating sense of humour which I enjoyed reading.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.

This book was a good read, but it was a slow read for me. I did enjoy it and I did finish it. I would like to read more by this author because the writing was good!

Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House Publisher for this ARC. The views below are my own.

Plot

Haunted by a childhood tragedy that gave birth to the cruel nickname "Lethal", Liesl now specialises in saving things: dogs, children, sisters. Telling herself it's time she returned the favor, Alice engages the services of Brigid Quinn, a hardboiled local private investigator with a shady past, to help her get rid of Sam for good.

Sam, Liesl's wealthy ex-husband, vanished ten years ago, leaving her a chunk of money but no explanation. Sam is handsome, charming, manipulative . . . and now he claims he's sick. But Alice, with her experience of spinning tales, knows a liar when she sees one.

Review

Perhaps because this was a spin-off of a series I haven’t read, I don’t have the full history of Quinn, but I really struggled to get through this book. It was well written, it was twisty and confusing in all the right parts but I just couldn’t get to grips with it. Overall, I was left a little underwhelmed but I didn’t hate it, it’s just not for me.

This book was a tough read for me. It was very slow and never really picked up. It felt very anti climatic. Quinn was the only interesting character. I think digging into her past/career would’ve made for a much better book. The main character in this book was annoying and self absorbed. It just felt like nothing really happened through out the book. I usually finish books within a few days and this one took me a few weeks.

As for the actual writing, I found that there were many run on sentences. I didn’t like that it was just from the main characters point of view I think having Sam’s point of view also would’ve helped a bit.

Not even the presence of Brigid Quinn (main character in books by the same author that I enjoyed) could push this one up for me - the main character was difficult to engage with. Thanks to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review - book publishes 1/7/25