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, totally unexpected. Good read. Exceptional ending.
Exciting page turner with a great sense of humor. Couldn’t stop reading.
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Avid Reader –
4.5 stars
M/F Thriller
Triggers: Kidnapping, Murder, Stalking, Torture
Whew… This book will mess with your mind… A LOT.
You’re sucked right in to the twisted and crazy lifestyle of Millicent and her husband. While they appear to be the typical suburban household with two growing kids and two jobs, their “dates” are anything but normal.
While twisting and turning in their messed up psyche, you’re also trying to reconcile that they are your neighbors… they are your tennis coach… your realtor…
It’s a game of cat and mouse, but throughout, you’re not quite sure who the cat is or who the mouse is. This book will make you second guess everything at least twice and then, when you think you’ve got it, another mind bender will show up.
While it’s a fast read, I think mainly it’s quick because you want to find out what happens next. There is a well-developed mystery within the story and fairly decent backstory information so that you can try and figure out how Millicent and her husband function every day.
This is the first book that I’ve read of Downing’s and it left me speechless and happy, all wrapped into a crazy, confused package. I loved the intensity and while I’m unsure if I “liked” the book, I definitely liked the style.
Shelby –
My Lovely Wife was not what I was expecting, it had moments of intrigue but unfortunately it didn’t appeal to me. I will admit I like a darker, psychological thriller as much as the next person, but this read more like a diary then an actual story. Due to that, I just couldn’t get into it. I would set the book down and read something else, then come back (I may have done this a few times).
The unnamed main character is a father, husband, and tennis instructor. I know his children’s names, I know his wife’s name, I even know his client’s names but never have I learned his name. Happily married with a predictable family schedule, doting wife, and loving children. Unnamed and his wife, Millicent, find a way to “spice” up their lives and the insanity begins…
I couldn’t connect with any of the characters (thankfully), I had absolutely nothing in common except maybe the love of my children, and I believe this may be where the disconnect started for me. While I didn’t enjoy the story, I do appreciate the ending (even if I already knew what was going on).
I would definitely give this author another try, but this story just wasn’t for me.
Reviewers received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
Check out our My Lovely Wife post on Wicked Reads at http://bit.ly/WRMyLovelyWife
Tobias…deaf!! What an odd alter ego, yet funny! The twist was quite unpredictable
What a mindf*ck this one turned out to be. The last sentence gave me goosebumps. Not at all what I was expecting, super fun!
Bravo! What a deliciously dark disturbing debut. I loved that it was from the husband/fathers point of view, I couldn’t help but like him as disturbing as that is. I found myself totally absorbed in his thinking and rationalization. I did not want the book to end, I enjoyed it like I do my favorite meal, taking my time, savoring each and every bite. Well done Samantha Downing, very cleverly done, I will eagerly await your next novel.
/ 5
My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing is one hell of a debut novel, and while maybe it won’t be for everyone I sure loved the hell out of it.
What it’s about: Millicent and her husband seem like your average couple next door. Millicent is a real estate agent, her husband is a tennis coach, and they have 2 young teenagers named Rory and Jenna. They aren’t rich, but they have enough to comfortably live in the exclusive Hidden Oaks subdivision of Woodview, Florida. They are parents, friends, and coworkers, but their big difference from other people is that their favorite pastime involves murder. . .
I really don’t want to get into the plot at all since that is all part of the fun of this book, but WOW. I found My Lovely Wife to be both riveting and suspenseful, and a few of the major twists blew me away. Some of this book I kind of saw coming, but I didn’t even care because I loved the writing so much. Everything is told in first person from the viewpoint of Millicent’s husband whose real name is never revealed. I thought this was an incredibly interesting choice by the author and one I didn’t even fully realize until I had finished the book.
Final Thought: I don’t want to say anything else and spoil things, but I highly recommend this book to lovers of thrillers and suspense who love crazy main characters. The end of the book gave me chills and I can’t even believe this is a debut novel. The characters will fascinate you and disgust you, and My Lovely Wife will definitely leave you wanting more from Downing!
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book!
Great book. Twisted and awesome ending. Writing was excellent. Look forward to more from this author.
It’s no mean feat to find something fresh in the crowded thriller field, but Downing pulls off an indisputable triumph with My Lovely Wife. Exemplary writing and outstanding pacing confirm Downing’s talent, but it’s her deliciously depraved characters that kept me flying through the pages. Couldn’t get enough of this subversive love-gone-sideways tale!
Clever. Manipulative. Dark. Disturbing. What more can you ask for?
Dark, twisted — and impossible to put down. Samantha Downing has written a wickedly plotted and suspenseful psychological thriller.
Totally engrossing and I kept on thinking, one more chapter… an intelligent page-turner that makes you question everything.
I started this book with doubts about both the main characters. Husband and wife, they just seemed odd. As I kept reading I realized how incredibly odd and scary they both were. While this could have been a stop, put this book down thought it was more of an Oh My Gosh, what are they going to do next?
I knew the other shoe was going to drop, I knew that there was going to be that moment when the story shifted, and I was so looking forward to it. When the story changed paths, I was let down. I needed more; I wanted a more climatic event then what happens. I needed it to be as dramatic as the rest of the story was and it just didn’t happen that way.
My Lovely Wife is a thriller, it is psychotic, and it is enthralling. I was pulled in and I couldn’t stop reading until I reached the end. I needed to know that the children in the book are safe and that the right people were held responsible for what was happening.
What a surprising book, a real page turner that will keep you up at night. I am still stunned at the twist and turns this book took, never expecting how twisted a person can be. This is a story that gives you chills and makes you wonder what your neighbors may be up to. I can envision this as a movie, picturing the cast who would do it justice. I am full of anticipation just wondering and waiting to see what Samantha Downing will write next. This one brings a new definition to “family” and to “for better or worse.”
Twisted but addictive!
My Lovely Wife is the debut novel by Samantha Downing.
I downloaded the Kindle version taken by the premise: ‘We all have secrets to keeping a marriage alive. Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.’
Once I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down. I didn’t particularly like the characters but they were compelling and I needed to find out what happened in the end. Occasionally I sighed in disbelief at the scenarios but overall a gripping thriller. I read it in two days.
Definitely an enjoyable quick read psychological thriller. It’s a dark topic, but I didn’t feel that it went super deep into the dark details the way some thrillers do.
Diabolical, but a good read. Didn’t see the end coming!
I loved this book! I have recommended it to several of my friends. Very original!!!
Morbid did not finish
This book has NO redeeming characters. I usually hope to root for someone in a story, but not here.