Meredith has been uprooted to the middle of nowhere with two kids and an abusive husband. After she fantasizes about ways to kill him, he ends up dead. Despite all the evidence pointing to her, Meredith finds an unlikely supporter and friend in the county sheriff. Together, they uncover some ugly truths about her husband and this small, isolated town. Can Meredith make this place a new home for … for her family, or will the real secret behind her husband’s death send her away for good?
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This is the first book in the wild crime series and I loved it!
The story is well written and well paced with lots of tension and suspense. The characters were well defined.
The book kept me gripped from start to finish and I cant wait to read the next book in the series
This is a great suspense filled story that will keep you on the edge of your seat.When Meredoths husband announces they are moving an men she doesn’t even know start loading up their furniture into a trailer behind his truck he tells her to hurry up and pack.She has two s!all kids an doesn’t really want to go but she is afraid to make him mad .They’ve been married give years have a four year old and an eight month old.When they get there the house is in bad shape it’s cold dirty and she hates it but doesn’t say anything.Brian keeps going out of town leaving her an the kids a line in the middle of no where.He continues to be both mentally an physically abusive There are so many twists and turns to this story will keep you riveted until the very last page and leave you begging for more.I love the way this amazing author brings the characters to life before your eyes and you can feel their emotions and their pain.I can hardly wait to see what’s next by this multi talented author.
Well written, fast paced, and a real page turner. This story was one of those that you read start to finish as you can not put it down.
Brian has uprooted his family from California and moved them to the isolated town of Hay City, Idaho. Meredith, his wife, is upset and confused by this decision since she was never consulted about them moving. She tries to ask him about it but he avoids the question directly and just tells her that he got a deal on a house and was promoted at his job to take over this new sales territory. She knows that voicing her concerns or objections will just set him off and she doesn’t want that. She finds herself questioning everything about her life and fantasizing about killing her abusive husband. That is until he ends up dead and she is the only prime suspect that the Sheriff has to investigate. Did she kill him and not remember? Will the Sheriff arrest her? How does she make sense of everything she is learning about her husband, their marriage and most importantly herself?
I really enjoyed this story and the great characters. It is a really steady and easy to read book with very well rounded characters and great transitions between all the different nuances that make up the scenes. I really liked the imagery of the isolated town of Hay City and the surrounding towns, I could picture all of it as I read it. I love that about a book, when they can transport me to that particular scene and I can see everything about it in color. This book has that.
I really enjoyed the humor of the 4 year old Jamie speaking her truth, and sometimes everyone else’s truths, all the time. She wasn’t afraid to state her opinion about things and manipulate the adults to her way of things, probably why her and Honey got along so well. I felt for Meredith and got angry for her when she didn’t seem able to make her voice heard. Anyone who has been in a bad relationship could probably relate to her character. I also liked how the Sheriff was a young man who didn’t seem to let the town gossip get to him and stayed true to his responsibilities of finding the truth even when the evidence was showing him something different. The other supporting characters made up the town in a way that I could visualize them there and see how they all worked together in a way that made the story quite excellent.
I found this first book of the Wild Crime series to be well worth the read and will be looking forward to reading the next one.
Well written with some very interesting characters are definite reasons to grab this book. A murder mystery whose main character is a woman who has two young children and is trying to keep it all together and make some sense out of her life while dealing with a manipulative and abusive husband. Full of suspense and secrets making this intriguing story a page turner. Twists and turns will keep you wondering and totally surprised at the end.
I love it when I find an author that I haven’t read before and this one certainly didn’t disappoint me! I love the way this author writes, this is a wonderful, fantastic read and I would encourage everyone who enjoys some mystery to grab this book and give it a go! The characters are interesting and for the most part likeable. The plot is brilliant and keeps you guessing and therefore keeps you interested! I can’t say enough good things about this book! Now on to the next book by her!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Meredith is in for a surprise when her husband uproots the entire family to a remote town in Idaho. He is an abusive man and she feels she has no options but to go along with everything he says and does. Although she is a bit confused as to why he bought a dilapidated home that needs major repair in such a desolate location, she decides to keep quiet. After a night of being physically abused, Meredith fantasizes about killing Brian and shortly thereafter he winds up dead. Now she must prove that she is innocent and that someone else is the killer.
This is a suspenseful mystery filled with lots of twists and turns. As Meredith looks into her late husband’s past, she soon discovers some ugly truths and secrets that involve the local townsfolk with agendas of their own.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Crime and Paradise by Julie Howard has a suspense and hint of romance. This is book one of a new series. Meredith is a very young mother with two small children. Her husband, Brian is away for weeks at a time for his job. Meredith is very passive in this relationship, and rarely speaks up with any opposition to Brians control of the money and decisions. One day he tells her they are moving from California to a northern state. He is very abrupt and refuses to give Meredeth any details. He drives them for hours straight with very few rest stops until they reach Hay City, Idaho. During the miserable trip, Meredith begins to feel resentment about how selfish and forceful he is being to her recently. As she cares for the restless children she passes some of the time playing a what-if game in her mind such as: what if he were to die, be in an accident, or how could I kill him? The house he takes them to live is decrepit, nasty, and needs repairs. The landscape is a frozen snowy wilderness which has Meredith isolated. The reader will get the backstory for Meredith with her thoughts as she remembers her alcoholic mother, moving from shelter to shelter, and the sad childhood she had experienced. Meredith has headaches and takes her husbands prescription at night which is beginning to cause vivid, scary dreams. Secrets are uncovered in the house which give Meredith cause for more concern and she wants to take the children and leave. Murder strikes before she can make her escape! Did she do it?!
Looking forward to this one because I enjoy this author’s writing!
It’s early morning and Meredith and her two young children are told by her husband, Brian, to get up, get packed, he’s bought a house “up north” and they are moving. And she does just that. “Up north” means she leaves California and winds up in snowbound Idaho. The house he’s bought would be condemned most anywhere else. And the nearest town is over an hour away … if the ramshackle car he has for her will even start.
To say that Brian is manipulative and abusive doesn’t tell the whole story. He’s getting more violent by the hour.
Brian has an agenda … Meredith’s grandmother has money .. lots of money. Doesn’t seem to matter that Meredith has never met her grandmother and harbors a dislike of her because she refused to help her daughter … Meredith’s mother.
When he doesn’t let up, Meredith starts to think about how to kill Brian and leave this godforsaken place.
So maybe dreams do come true. Brian is found murdered.. shot in the head and left by the side of the road.
Being the prime suspect, the sheriff pays close attention to Meredith, but he can’t quite convince himself of her guilt. But if she didn’t kill him would did?
This is a well written suspenseful mystery. I liked the characters, although I would have liked to see Meredith stronger, especially since she had small children to think of. Brian was extremely manipulative. There is just a touch of romance in the air with Meredith and the Sheriff. The ending came as quite a surprise.
Many thanks to the author / Wild Rose Press / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
Easy to read.
Interesting read. Meredith’s abusive husband packs her and their two kids up and moves to a house in the middle of nowhere. When her husband is murdered, Meredith starts to question whether her fantasies have become real; did she turn her fantasies in to reality and murder her husband or is someone else behind his murder? Find out in Crime and Paradise. Great murder mystery and great narration.
Love this book! Couldn’t put it down
Meredith’s abusive husband suddenly moves her and their 2 small children from Oakland, CA to the middle of nowhere Idaho in the middle of winter into an old house. Left alone much of the time, Meredith discovers a box of money in the attic. Where did it come from? What is her husband into? She begins to fantasize about killing him and he turns up dead. When she starts having dreams she begins to think she did it. Certainly everyone else in the tiny town thinks she did it. Except the sheriff seems to believe her. Or does he? This was an interesting mystery with an ending I did’t see coming. The characters were well developed and the story moved along well. The narrator did a good job. Thanks to the author for giving me a copy of this audiobook through Story Origin.
This is a very good mystery. Kept me engaged all thru the book. Realistic characters. I was really pulling for Meredith. I listened to Audible version. Male narrator did a great job on this book. Female voices, kids voices, excellent. Male voice crisp and easy to listen to.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book from Story Origin.
3 1/2 stars. An abusive two-timing husband, a move to a small isolated town, a fantasy of murder, can Meredith survive this. A very compelling read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This one was a whodunnit with no suspects except a wife who wished she could kill her abusive, sorry, good for nothing husband. A young mother and wife is moved my her domineering absentee salesman husband from a big city in California to a podunk hole in the road in Idaho in the space of a day. She’ll shocked she tries to adjust. She fantasizes about ways to murder him after finding rolls of money totaling thousands (after she had lived on a strict budget for their 5 years of marriage) in a box and another box full of pictures of another woman. Of course he ends up dead and she is the major suspect. The handsome Sheriff though is taking his time investing and the two find themselves attracted to each other.
this was actually a really great book! she is moved way across state with her to kids and abusive husband. she dreams of ways to kill him. only now he ends up dead and all fingers point to her. read to find out what happens.
Loved this story!!! Great characters. Can’t wait to read what Julie Howard writes next.
I’ve read another book by this author and once again was not let down. I enjoy her voice and writing style very much. Though told in a woman’s POV the male narrator did an astounding job. This story had a darker edge and I felt it hinged on women’s fiction (a genre I enjoy). I was surprised by the twist and the “who” of the whodunit! The author did a good job planting seeds of doubt and kept me wondering. It is a standalone book but there are two more out with the lead heroine and I look forward to reading or listening to both to see how far Meredith grows.