#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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Fasten your seatbelt because this book is one crazy ride!
Is it possible to read a story where none of the characters are likable and yet you still enjoyed the story? Yes. Yes it is. This story has suspense and mystery. Secrets and lies and I was there for it. Most if not all the characters didn’t do it for me but I found Lila interesting. She gave nothing away and did not apologize for anything. I respected that. There’s a lot of twists and turns. Some I saw coming and others surprised me. As the story progressed, I found myself more and more invested and was rapidly page turning because I knew the ending would blow my mind. It sure did! Wow…..
I highly enjoyed this book! I really liked the dark vibe it gave off and the many twists the author threw in there. It made my little black heart happy. Darby Kane is a new to me author. Her storytelling and writing is really good. I can’t wait to read more by this author! Add this to your TBR if you love suspense with a dark vibe. I give this 4 stars.
A teacher not showing up for the day?
Mr. Payne never misses a day.
Where could he be?
Aaron’s wife Lila said he was gone when she woke up, but that is normal.
Lila said she had no idea where he could be, but Lila doesn’t always tell the truth, and we know that Aaron was very controlling to the point of being abusive.
Lila had also found something on his phone that infuriated her, that he denied, and that caused a huge fight.
A nosey neighbor comes on the scene, and the school principal and a fellow teacher had called the police without Lila’s knowledge.
Lila is a former attorney and knows how to stay cool, even though she isn’t cool on the inside…she wonders where Aaron is when she knows he couldn’t have gone anywhere.
When a note written on an index card is stuck in the sliding back door, its indication scares Lila because perhaps things didn’t go as planned.
Who is Lila besides Aaron’s wife? Will the police find out? And more importantly who is Aaron?
PRETTY LITTLE WIFE takes us through the investigation as tension mounts and Lila gets more nervous because she keeps getting notes but doesn’t know who they are from. She is hoping they aren’t from Aaron.
I kept thinking it had to be Lila who made Aaron disappear, but then someone else pops up.
It is difficult to figure out what happened to him.
Will you figure out where Aaron is and how he got there? This book is a guessing game until the very end.
There are some nice surprises.
ENJOY!! 5/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was my first book that I have read written by this author, and all I can say is WOW! Once I started reading the book it was very hard to put down, it had so many twists and turns and at times I wasn’t sure whom was responsible for what in the storyline. I didn’t realize this was a debut book for this author, you would never know that from how well written this book was.
I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publisher William Morrow but am under no obligation to leave a favorable review, all opinions expressed here are my own.
This one has so many twists and turns you can’t put it down in case you miss something. This is the first psychological thriller from romance writer HelenKay Dimon and it’s one of the best I’ve read all year.
Where is Aaron Payne?
Lila thought she knew where her husband was, until he wasn’t. The quest to find Aaron turns into an unraveling of characters with a multitude of layers and secrets upon secrets.
I was slow to warm up to this one just because the characters aren’t very likable. I don’t have to like the characters in a book but I have to at least care about what’s going on with them and I was slow to get to that point. Once I did the book kept me interested. Lila comes off cold and uncaring, but you can tell she’s extremely intelligent. Once you learn more about her background you understand why she is the way she is and at times even feel sorry for her because her life seems to be a repeating pattern of awfulness in regards to the men in her life. I’ve seen many reviews that call her an unreliable narrator. Is someone unreliable when they withhold info? Maybe. I always use that more for when a narrator lies or has a mental illness that doesn’t allow them to see the truth. I wouldn’t call Lila unreliable, just very guarded, not very open, keeps her cards close to her chest. In fact, EVERY character in this story is that way, very close lipped, except for the rookie male cop who blurts his thoughts frequently, lol.
The twist was twisted and while I didn’t see it exactly panning out that way, I knew who I thought would be involved. The believability is where it was a little bit of a let down for me. Is what happened really plausible? Again, maybe. You hear about some terrible crimes, but I dunno. I didn’t peg the villain to be that cunning for that long because there are certain personality traits of certain types of psychos that craves attention. It’s fiction, I get that. It was good, it was entertaining, but I was left feeling slightly unsatisfied.
What a great debut!
I’ve had this book on my radar ever since the author announced its sale to the publisher, but somehow, between then and the time I picked up my eARC, I’d forgotten the premise and didn’t bother to read the blurb. I’m so glad I didn’t!
I flew through the first 2/3 of the story, enamored by the two female protagonists. Lila, in particular, is an enigma! She’s unlikable in many ways yet sympathetic, and I loved the complexity of her character and what it brought to the mystery. In fact, nearly all of the characters are flawed and complex, and that depth in characterization is what made this such a compelling domestic thriller.
The last 1/4-1/3 wasn’t as strong for me. Characters began showing their true colors, and some of the allure I’d found (and loved) earlier in the story was lost.
Still, I’d highly recommend this one. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more domestic mysteries by this author.
CW: emotional/psychological abuse, sexual abuse (off-page), suicide (mentioned)
RATING: B+ (4½ stars)
(Note: I received a review copy of this title courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley.)
A thriller with all the perfect twists! Loved it!
Aaron Payne, Lila’s husband, has gone missing. His body wasn’t where she had left it to be discovered. Is he still alive? Will he come back for her? Will the detective on the case find out the whole truth?
What did I just read?! Oh my goodness I loved this book! It dove right in from the very first sentence and never lost steam. I had theories and one was in the ballpark but I would never have guessed the full extent.
I hope Darby Kane has another novel planned because I already can’t wait to read it!
This book was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. When Lila discovers her husband does something unforgiveable she doesn’t plan to divorce him, she plans to kill him. But all her best laid plans do not prepare her for the day his best friend says he’s missing. In trying to discover what happened to him, and keeping secrets from the police, this book takes turn after turn. I was surprised by what actually happened. I liked all the characters, Lila, her friend the lawyer, her brother-in-law, and Ginny, the woman investigating the disappearance. I would recommend this book. Thank you NetGalley, HarperCollins Publishers and William Morrow Paperbacks.
Things are not as they seem in Lila and Aaron’s life and marriage. When Aaron goes missing, lots of things come to light. Their marriage troubles. missing students from the area, and Lila’s past. This is a book that kept me reading way past my bedtime as I just couldn’t put it down. Is anything what it seems? I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.
When I say this was a crazy page turner full of suspense, I mean it. This book had me guessing all the way through. Lila is the protagonist and the book starts off with her finding out a secret her husband Aaron has been keeping. Aaron is a popular teacher who is wealthy due to family money, but prefers to work at school and coach a young group of girls, but the secret Aaron is keeping could end him, Aaron ends up missing and all eyes are on Lila. Lila has tried to keep to herself due to her past with a father who raped and murdered her best friend when she was a child. Lila has changed her name to disassociate herself with her father ,and with Aaron missing the fears of her past coming back to haunt her are rising. With a podcaster reporting not only on Aaron’s case, but also on several missing young girls the heat is on. Aaron’s older brother Jared has a pretty close relationship with Lila and doesn’t want to believe Lila could’ve hurt his brother, but her nonchalant attitude regarding Aaron is causing him concern. Detective Investigator Ginny is hot on Lila’s tail and believes Lila did something to Aaron. Lila is a former high powered attorney and knows how to play the game, and she knows exactly what to say to much to Ginny’s frustration. After Aarons secret gets out the case takes a turn, and the public views on Lila change, Ginny is finding it harder to crack this case. Ginny is determined to figure out what happened with Aaron, but is she willing to take Lila down in the process. This book is a true rollercoaster ride.
Thank you Harper Collins and Scene of the Crime for this ARC.
This was a good twisted thriller! A wife murders her husband, makes it look like a suicide but his body and vehicle is not where she left it last night. What happened to him? His body? His SUV? She knew for certain he was dead, or was he? Did he fake his own death and now he is the one laughing…. there is no way that is possible, she made sure he was dead! What now? Who knows the truth and where is his body….
One never knows what goes on behind closed doors, and this is one of those stories. As detectives search, question and uncover a shocking past and secret of Lila’s, will they be able to find Aaron? Did he just take off, and walk away from everything as Lila is making it appear or is there something more sinister at work. Did she really murder him?
There was a missing student just months ago as well, is this all tied up with whoever took her? Is Aaron wrapped up with that, but she knows where she had left him and things seem to be getting more complicated for Lila. Someone knows her secret, and isn’t afraid to leave notes letting her know they cleaned up her mess. Can she figure out where Aaron is, and who cleaned up her “mess” before the police do?
An Captivating Story of Murders, Betrayal, and Sleeping With Students
The novel opens up with Lila throwing a fit and tearing up her bedroom and elsewhere looking for Aaron’s, her husband, secret cell phone. She couldn’t unsee what she had seen! Her husband comes home and tries to dominate her and tell her that it isn’t what she thinks it is. What follows is mostly a diatribe against her husband until near the end. Aaron is a high school math teacher. Brent, Aaron’s principal and best friend shows up at his house one morning asking where Aaron is. Lila’s tells him that he is at school. A literary grenade goes off. Lila thinks to herself that she killed him and left him in his car on the high school grounds. The second literary grenade goes off. His car is not on the high school grounds! Is he alive? She had to find him before he finds her. I was hooked!
Having been called by Brent, Ginny Davis, Senior Investigator from the local Sheriff’s Office, shows up to obtain what initial information she can. Although Lila thinks everything is going south very quickly, she keeps herself calm. Ginny finds Lila very detached and unconcerned. Lila’s answers to Ginny are very measured and offer the bare minimum of information. The game of cat and mouse starts. The main storyline is not that simple but much more rich. The environment is one of several missing girls that are the focus of an FBI lead task force. Lila and her husband have pasts that they would rather keep secret. While Ginny focused on Lila, the investigation uncovers other possible suspects that must be investigated. While I was hooked early, the richness of the storyline kept me hooked throughout the whole novel.
This is a debut novel and appears to be a standalone novel so much of the B-storyline threads can be considered part of the main storyline. There is extensive background for Lila and her husband, of course, from the perspective of Lila. The background on the other characters is enough to understand the reasoning of their actions. The only other character with an extensive background is Ginny, the investigator. Insight to her background and her rocky path to and in her current position along with her family life proves a solid character. She has a junior partner so much of her character is revealed as she tutors her partner. These storyline threads contributed to my enjoyment in reading this novel.
I especially enjoyed two aspects in this novel First was the questioning of Lila by Ginny, who continually changes the line of inquiry trying to trip up Lila, who while internally in turmoil keeps herself calm and answer the questions with the minimum of information. This enhanced the cat and mouse aspect of the novel. The second was the high level of suspense that the author was able to maintain throughout the novel.
All of the above was achieved with not much vulgar language, and implied but no descriptive intimate scenes. There was one religious name taken in vain. All violence is described after the fact so it is less edgy. There is some pedophilia with teenage girls with references to evidence of such activity so this novel is adult content.
This novel was very enjoyable to read. All of the requirements for a high star rating were present. My opinion was cemented by the verbal duels between Lila and Ginny. The plot twists occurred right up to the end of the novel. I do not remember any loose ends. I rate this debut novel with five stars. If the teaser interests you, I believe you will enjoy reading this novel also.
I have received a free e-book version of this novel through NetGalley from HarperCollins Publishers with an expectation for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thank HarperCollins Publishers for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.
Interesting concept.
Oh, how I loved this story!
It was full of intrigue, suspense, thrills, chills and twists at every turn! It was a complete mind-bender and I think someone should make it into a movie, STAT!
This woman, Lila, has a background story that matches the current one she has to deal with. Her whole life has been tainted by evil, in a sense. How she navigates through all of the nastiness is beyond me. But she is brilliant!
Ginny, the cop that is hot on her tail, wants to stick it to Lila so bad. She knows she has done soemthing foul, but can’t prove it.
For a debut novel, I am singing the praises…. LALALALALALA! This is one of the best debuts I have ever read! You would think the author was putting out books for the last decade, but nope!
I’m just blown away and honestly, can’t wait to read more from Miss Darby Kane. I hope you all will check this book out too!
I think I loved this book even more the second time I read it. It is so, so good. This may be the first thriller I’ve ever reread, I think I always just assumed I wouldn’t enjoy rereading thrillers because I already know the twists but I still could not put this book down, it’s absolutely my favourite thriller.
I absolutely love Lila. Everything about her. One thing I really noticed during my reread is how strong the author specifically made the female characters. I liked Ginny last time but that grew this time. Even Cassie seemed like such a strong character this time, and I don’t remember caring much for her originally. And Christina. Oh, how I loved Christina. And then on the flip side of that, the men were awful. Except Tobias, he was fine, but I kind of feel like he was purposely not as developed personally as the other men in the book because he was the only man who really cared for and respected Lila. All of the other men were really developed and done so in such a good way that it really just helped show how strong Lila is for everything she’s gone through, and is going through in the book.
The story had me hooked basically immediately, and I could not guess what was going to happen next. I know that this is one I will continue to reread, because of how entertaining it is.
I couldn’t have predicted how this one would turn out.