SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTUREINSTANT #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERUSA Today bestseller Edgar + ITW Thriller Award nominee for Best First Novel“Think: Dexter but sexier.”—theSkimm“A dark and irresistible debut.”—People“Will shock even the savviest suspense readers.”—Real SimpleDexter meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith in this wildly compulsive debut thriller about a couple whose fifteen-year marriage has … Simple
Dexter meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith in this wildly compulsive debut thriller about a couple whose fifteen-year marriage has finally gotten too interesting…
Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams, and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored.
We look like a normal couple. We’re your neighbors, the parents of your kid’s friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with.
We all have our secrets to keeping a marriage alive.
Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.
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Wow! My Lovely Wife is a stunner — full of twists, well-drawn characters, and riveting suspense.
A fantastic foray into what we know — and what we do not — about those closest to us. Intricately plotted, fascinating characters — I loved it!
Edgy, mesmerizing, and seriously dark and twisted, I was constantly surprised by this book, in the best possible way! The prose is crisp and sharp, the pacing consistently quick, the characters unique and exceptional. I could easily see this making its way to Netflix; it’s very like Dexter for the suburban parents. I highly recommend this 5* (can I give it 6*?) read!
5 Dazzlingly dark, deliciously disturbing, maliciously manipulative, super twisted stars
This one definitely doesnt seem like a debut! Super short chapters and awesomely interesting content make Samantha Downing’s thriller ‘My Lovely Wife’, compulsively readable! If you read the blurb and think: it sounds far fetched…just know your wrong, and also clearly have too much faith in humanity [I’m half ass kidding], and read it to be shocked and surprised at every clever twist and turn.
If you know anything about people, pyschology, crime, or betrayal….you already realize this plot has basis in reality and is not only possible but also even probable in the right [or very wrong?] mix of people and circumstances, still….read it and you’ll be thrilled and also surprised by multiple reveals. I cant say I was completely in the dark until the end, but I can say I was held captive from the opening words to the last page. This novel is completely engrossing! It sucks you into the vivid lives of these malicious, vindictive, interesting characters, and is literally enthralling to the max! I Couldnt wait to know everything that would happen, and I was dying to reach the last page to discover how it all ended! The characters arent just well drawn…they are alive and lingering within my brain even now!Exciting, thrilling, suspenseful, darkly twisted, wickedly delicious, and amazingly written! I can 100% gurantee you wont be able to stop reading…do yourself a couple huge favors: go into this one blind and pick it up now!
It’s hard to root for the narrator, even when you find out how messed up the family is. But it’s a book that keeps you guessing. Look over here, see what we’re doing here and you forget to look at what’s in the other hand.
Not warm and cozy at all.
I agree with other reviewers who call this book disturbing and fascinating. It’s fast-paced and provides a unique twist on the idea of a messed-up marriage. I wasn’t sure who–if anyone–to root for when the book started, but I gradually got sucked into the story. The last one hundred pages are incredible.
It’s extremely rare that I can’t see a twist coming from a mile away, but this one got me. And the ending was equally refreshing. Highly recommend it to lovers of GONE GIRL.
You’ll never look at your neighbors the same. I couldn’t pull myself away from this story… Make sure you clear your schedule before you pick it up. Absolutely unputdownable.
Pretty twisted! And entertaining. I know it’s tempting to compare every thriller to Gone Girl, but this one actually has some serious similarities!
Creepy and unsettling — in the best possible way. A stellar, accomplished debut.
First, let me say when a heaviness lingers when I come to the blank page at the back, it gets five stars.
This is a page-turner, easy to read, twisted, dark — but not too dark — crime thriller that will keep you up late and leave you craving more. The plot, though at times felt too far out for me (a former homicide detective and perhaps an unfairly harsh critic), is brilliant, and all of its parts are expertly woven together throughout. The ending is wonderful. Fast, exciting, with plenty of twists and turns.
The writing is wonderful and I will read more by this author. I can’t believe it is her first book!
I call this a must-read for anyone who likes mystery and thriller novels.
I heard myself say, ‘Whuh??’ more than once.
“I wanted to surprise you,” she says. “For our anniversary.” I stare at her. My lovely wife. “It’s demented,” I say. She raises her eyebrow at me. Before she can speak, I put my finger against her lips. “And it’s brilliant,” I say.
It’s a match made in serial killer heaven. Told from the unnamed husband’s point of view, these two are functional suburbanites. They’re the involved parents at the PTA meetings. They’re your next door neighbors. Your realtor. Your tennis instructor. Completely normal…well, except for their need to kill. And I’m not talking about running over someone with your car. I’m talking about targeted and premeditated, hands-on murder. Don’t worry, all the bloody details are left up to the reader’s imagination. The hunt keeps their marriage alive, and getting away with it time after time is the post-orgasmic glow.
“But Millicent does not put up with sh#t, period.” People, watch out for this woman’s wrath. Curious? You’ll just have to read it yourself. It will have you changing your mind back and forth about the lesser evil principle. Smart and engaging, My Lovely Wife was such a fun read. This is Samantha Downing’s debut novel and she is an author to keep your eye on. Check it out!
I loved this this brilliantly dark and twisted novel. One of the best books I’ve read this year! I have a sneaky feeling this is going to be big!
Truly horrifying in the most delicious way. Samantha Downing sucks you in with a great story, pitch-perfect prose and disturbingly dead-on insights into the dark side of human nature. I hope I never meet her in a dark alley…
Twisted, creepy, clever, perverse, must-read thriller!
Wow! What a twisty, unpredictable ride. It grabs you from the beginning and doesn’t stop shocking until the the end.
The synopsis isn’t wrong when it describes this book as Dexter meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Holy mackerel, on this book and the twisted minds of Millicent and her husband….and you know, I can’t even remember if we ever know his name since he is the narrator. How do you find someone that has a hobby that is like yours? Was this something they just fell into by accident? We find out how this started (no spoilers here!) and near the end of the book you really find out more about how this really all came to be for this couple. It is so hard to not share more because it would spoil the story!
This couple has two teenage children and it makes one wonder how they could keep all of this a secret. Their son Rory suspects something, but nothing to this magnitude. He just thinks dad is cheating on mom and decides to blackmail his father. If he only knew what was going on and why his dad was leaving the house. I think the narrator was somewhat weak because why not tell Millicent about Rory’s blackmail? She knows why he is going out at night…to hunt for their next victim. Granted, he did cheat on her and sleep with one or two of the potential victims, but does she need to know that part of it? Rory just suspects and by dad giving in it just confirms his suspicions.
I enjoyed the story that was woven with demented characters but the narrator somewhat redeems himself in the end. I don’t think he was the strong one of the two because when some facts came to light about the murdered women he was quite surprised. But I have to admire his veracity in getting to the truth of the situations. I think this story kept me up a night or two wondering what twisted path it could take next. I was surprised as some facts were revealed but it seems to make sense when I reevaluated my perception of what was the truth.
We give this book 4 paws up and if you like psychological thrillers this is a good one to read.
Yowza. Sometimes you just need a real page-turner to get you through a long drive and this was definitely it. A married pair of serial killers in suburbia with kids and appointments and the whole nine yards, and you just can’t stop reading. It’s one of those thrillers that makes you happy to go back into your boring, normal cave with your very safe Bachelor airings and pizza. Good read. Highly recommended for a car trip.
Get ready to read about the most twisted marriage ever.
There are times when you might stop reading My Lovely Wife and think, well nothing like this could possibly happen. But the thing is, we already know about real-life couples involved in violent crime, and while what happens in the book is incredibly shocking, it’s nowhere near as shocking or gruesome as some crimes from real history.
The marriage in My Lovely Wife is one built on manipulation and desire, but what makes this book interesting, is that it’s difficult to pinpoint who is manipulating who. The villains are written in such a complex way, that there are times you feel yourself sympathising them, and times you love to hate them. And there are times where the villains feel almost like the victims, too.
This is a dark psychological thriller that can be uncomfortable to read but always manages to pull back to entertaining rather than become distasteful. Those of you who enjoy your literature more on the dark side will love this one.
Sarah A. Denzil