#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERNamed a recommended read by Huffington Post, PopSugar, Refinery29, Goodreads, The Skimm, Book Page, Style Caster, and a New York Post Best Book of the WeekDebut author Darby Kane thrills with this twisty domestic suspense novel that asks one central question: shouldn’t a dead husband stay dead?Lila Ridgefield lives in an idyllic college town, but not everything is … an idyllic college town, but not everything is what it seems. Lila isn’t what she seems.
A student vanished months ago. Now, Lila’s husband, Aaron, is also missing. At first these cases are treated as horrible coincidences until it’s discovered the student is really the third of three unexplained disappearances over the last few years. The police are desperate to find the connection, if there even is one. Little do they know they might be stumbling over only part of the truth….
With the small town in an uproar, everyone is worried about the whereabouts of their beloved high school teacher. Everyone except Lila, his wife. She’s definitely confused about her missing husband but only because she was the last person to see his body, and now it’s gone.
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This was a roller coaster of a thriller with more twists and turns than a maze. I read it in a couple of days because I was so certain I knew what was going on only to be thwarted time and again. Great, fast read about a woman who does something to her husband and then loses the body. Uh-oh!
I love it when I find a thriller so fun I can’t put it down, like this one from Darby Kane.
Ever since I first saw a tweet pitching this book, I’ve been frothing at the mouth to get a hold of it. Suffice to say it more than lives up to the hype! What a gloriously twisted story about a woman whose husband is missing, which is a serious issue because she left his body RIGHT THERE. I couldn’t put it down!
Buckle in, my friends!
Lila offs her jackwagon of a husband and then she puts him in his car, drives him to his job, and leaves him there.
But he and his car disappear before he is discovered and now he has been reported missing. Is he out there waiting, stalking, and looking for revenge or is something much, much worse happening?
I lost much of yesterday to this dazzling thriller and I have no regrets whatsoever. It was so well-written and it zinged to quite a satisfying conclusion.
One of the better books I have read in a long time!
Thank you to HarperCollins Publishers, William Morrow Paperbacks for sharing an ARC with me. It was my pleasure to write an honest review!
Pretty Little Wife is domestic suspense at its best, with a chilling premise that keeps you guessing to the last page.
Ever wonder why some people get married? Or what turns the marriage upside down? In the case of Lila and Aaron, her past history definitely collides with his present needs. She could divorce him, but she wants him to pay for crossing the line. She’s not particularly likeable, but her history might give her a pass. Learning early on that she killed him adds tension because she and the reader begin to wonder if she did commit the deed. Unlike too many domestic thrillers, this one has some depth. Is the conclusion a twisted surprise? Not if you read the genre, but it’s fun getting there. As an aside, one surprise does emerge: her tense relationship with a nosy neighbor. All, in all, better than most of the domestic thrillers now so popular.
Love Darby Kane’s voice! Some of her descriptions are just so perfect, they make you feel like you are going through the moment with the characters, which is what seamless writing is all about. Pretty Little Wife is a riveting mainstream domestic suspense. I expected twists and turns, and that’s exactly what I got. But I definitely didn’t anticipate all, or even most, of them. Pretty Little Wife is a surprise that keeps on giving. I’m looking forward to Darby’s next book!
This domestic thriller begins with one of those mind-blowing opening chapters! And WOW…what an ending! This story was unpredictable, fast-paced, and full of twisted surprises!
Lila and Aaron were never a traditional couple. She didn’t believe in soulmates or love at first sight. She and Aaron understood each other and their relationship worked and that’s all she really wanted. Until she finds her husband’s hidden secrets. Now it’s time to end their arrangement.
Lila is meticulous in her planning. When her husband’s dead body is found, everyone will find out about his perverse double life. The beloved math teacher’s true character will be exposed. But his body disappears before it’s discovered. Aaron is only a missing person and Lila starts receiving strange notes. Now she’s afraid Aaron is still alive and will want revenge.
“Leave it to Aaron to piss her off even in death.”
Thank you to Edelweiss, Darby Kane and William Morrow for this free digital ARC, in exchange for my honest opinion!
My Rating: 4.5 ’s
Published: December 29th 2020 by William Morrow Paperbacks
Pages: 416
Recommend: Yes!
HelenKay Dimon @WmMorrowBooks @weiss_squad
#psychologicalthriller #NoRulesJustThrills #MustReadThriller #InExchangeForReview #JustFinished #BookReview #Edelweiss
#domesticthriller #PrettyLittleWife
This book was well written, mostly unpredictable. I had a strong feeling that Jared was in on it from somewhere in the middle. Either way a great read.
4 stars!!
What a ride! This is a mystery for sure. The author drops the answers in your lap at the beginning of the book but it isn’t that simple. I thought I knew the answers but I just wanted the “why”. Little did I know I didn’t know the answers just what little crumbs the author gave me from time to time.
I want to give props to the author because I enjoyed that this book had strong female lead characters. I liked all the characters in this book, though they may have been one dimensional. They were all a necessary part of this book. Can I say I also love Tobias!!
This book was full of twists. But I will say it did seem to have a little bit of fluff. And some of it was not so believable. To be honest I was surprised at the end. It was a good summer read (a little lengthy).
This book definitely pulls you in and has you wondering what the heck is going on the entire book. There is no guessing the ending, when it happens it is going to slap you in the face and make you say what just happened. I really enjoyed this book and felt the author did a great job introducing you to characters and helping you be in the head of certain ones. This was my first book from this author and it has me interested in reading more.
I devoured it in two days. This is the type of thriller I love the most: A taut domestic suspense with just a shade of police procedural woven in.
I was hooked from the first page onward. Often, I’ll turn to the last pages to see how it ends so that I can analyze a book while I’m reading–it’s the writer in me, what can I say. With this book, I keep the ending a surprise. I wasn’t disappointed.
Definitely, a new way to write a murder mystery. Definitely, a page-turner.
I am a scaredy-cat reader, but this thriller was perfect for me. All the twists, no things that go thump.
The book was a bit slow moving in the beginning but then I had to buckle up! So many twists and turns all the way to the ending. What a great story!
This is the story of Lila. She has been in a terrible marriage for a long time, and she has just discovered a secret that her husband had that is unforgivable. She needs to end her marriage to Aaron, but he is missing. The police suspect Lila, but she doesn’t know where he is. While the police dig into her past Lila does some digging of her own and finds out more than she bargained for with her husband’s past.
This was a pretty good book. I was set for this one to be cheesy or have a terrible ending, but it was neither. It was pretty well written and the ending didn’t disappoint. Was I surprised at the end with the wrap up? No. However, it did not take away from the story. It was the first book in awhile that I didn’t really want to put down – wanted to keep reading chapter after chapter to see where it was going.
Check this one out. It isn’t a hard core thriller, but an interesting enough story that you will want to see where it ends up.
Twisted and insane! I had no idea what was going on and what happened to Aaron’s body. Finally finding out the truth only led to more disturbing secrets. I never expected the big twist at the end.
This is one twisted story. It’s full of ups and downs. Ins and outs. It has so much going on and was so much fun to read. It really was.
This is the story of Lila. Lila is married too Aaron. Aaron is the high school teacher that everyone loves. He is missing and it seems he went missing twice. You will know from the start who did something to Aaron, but not the why or what exactly. There are lots of things happening. Several missing people. Mostly young women but the the main person that is looked for here is Aaron. The beloved high school teacher and girls field hockey coach.
Lila came from a horrible childhood as did Aaron. Seems like they were made for each other. But as in most books, looks, feelings, thoughts, actions, marriages, can be deceiving. Aaron’s brother, Jared, plays a huge role in this story also. He wants to know what happened to his brother. He stands by Lila when the police detective starts questioning her. Ginny is a smart detective and has a theory as to what happened but can’t quite prove it. Yet!
This book has so much going on that if you are not careful you can get lost. Most likely if you love a good thriller you will find it easy to follow though. There is just so much. Between the husband, wife, brother-in-law, best friend, school principle, college professor, everyone involved looks guilty of something in one way or the other.
While I did figure out who did what in one way I still absolutely loved and enjoyed this book. All the things that led up to the big showdown were great. It was well written and the imagery was done in such a way as to make you feel you was there. I didn’t really like any of the characters until close to the ending. Then I did like Lila. I rooted for her throughout the book but didn’t really like her until the end. I felt bad for her from the start almost. I like Ginny somewhat as she was very good at her job. But she still lacked something. I just haven’t yet figured out what.
You will enjoy trying to figure this one out. I promise.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #DarbyKane, #HarperCollinsPublishers & #WilliamMorrowPaperbacks for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.
I gave it a big 5/5 stars and a high recommendation.
The inscrutable Lila Ridgefield is uncharacteristically furious with her husband when she gets a glimpse of his secret life in Pretty Little Wife by Darby Kane. Kane is a pseudonym for a well-established romance author, but there is little sentiment to be found in this departure toward domestic thrillers. Lila is cold, clever and resourceful. Her character has been formed from a traumatic past that molded her into a pragmatic creature who makes decisions based on calculation rather than emotion. Even her marriage is one of convenience and functions by the maintenance of respectful distance. It is an arrangement that suits her needs, but Lila soon discovers how it also serves her husband, Aaron, as well. Their lack of connection allows him to engage in some heinous activities while maintaining the facade of a perfect husband and teacher. When Aaron goes missing, Lila is naturally the prime suspect. She is baffled as well, since she thought she had set up the perfect suicide scene for him when she killed him. This is all revealed at the start of the novel, which then pivots to the mystery of Aaron’s whereabouts and the clues left behind in taunting messages left for Lila. Ginny is the detective assigned to the case, and she is not fooled by Lila’s demeanor and unflappability. As a former lawyer, Lila knows and manipulates the system well, but Ginny uses her instincts to bore through Lila’s story. As Aarons misdeeds are exposed, his brother (Jared) and Lila’s former colleague (Tobias) come to protect Lila, but this is a woman who does not need rescuing. Hitting on themes of misogyny, teen exploitation, sociopathic tendencies and vigilantism, Pretty Little Wife takes a decidedly feminist view. While its male characters are either ineffectual or banally inhuman, the female characters are finely tuned and nuanced. Lila is someone who should wisely be both admired and feared, and Ginny is her match in intelligence and provides ethical insight and perspective. Kane has done an admirable job here, producing a novel of suspense that is nicely paced and unpredictable. Her existing followers and new admirers will also be glad to know that she has another upcoming novel, The Replacement Wife, expected to release by the end of 2021.
Thanks to the author,William Morrow and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an impartial review.
Wow. I can guess the murderer in about 75% of the books I read. This one? No way. So many twists and turns. But not for shock value – they all had purpose and were believable. This was simply terrific.