After watching making a murderer on Netflix I was intrigued by the description of this book and I wasn't at all disappointed . Dennis Danson is on death row for the murder of a young girl 20 years ago , his story is the subject of a true crime documentary and he has a lot of people trying to get him released . Samantha starts to write to him and she is soon taken in by his apparent charm and gentleness , she soon leaves her life in England to marry him and join the campaign to overturn his conviction . This is where things start to get very interesting as after he is freed bit by bit he is revealed to be not as Sam thought , she is quite weak and goes along with everything Dennis wants and she did end up really getting on my nerves , but that just shows how good the book is ! Really original and an excellent read .

I found this book slightly unbelievable. Would a professional woman, living on the other side of the world really give up everything for a convicted murderer who she believed to be innocent? That said there were some interesting plot twists and turns that kept me reading to the end.

I would have loved nothing more than to add the extra star to this book as I thought it was incredible, but unfortunately, Samantha’s character annoyed me. I didn’t like her at all and by the end I was confused about her completely.

The story itself was fantastic! Very well written and keeps you hooked from the get go. It’s very descriptive and dark yet entertaining and suspenseful. I was on the edge of my seat by the end that’s for sure!

One minute you’re thinking one thing and the next you’re completely thrown in the other direction. Of course, there are stages where you have your suspicions but nothing is ever set in concrete stone until the end.

The mystery, the thrill, the psychological aspect and everything in between will have you dreaming nightmares to accompany the book. I found myself so lost in the story, I kinda forgot about reality. It’s creepy but shows the incredible talent of this author.

Can’t wait to read more from her!

Obviously this premise was going to speak to me. I am fascinated with the whole death row thing, as well as the women who marry these men there. Surreal, crazy stuff. I very briefly skimmed this synopsis and gave it a shot, and I have no regrets.

The Innocent Wife is an extremely absorbing read. It gets cracking really quickly, and doesn't waste your time. The plot pacing is a little all over the show because it starts with a bang, and while it remains engrossing, the middle section feels a little all over the show. That does not hurt the read though, as it is engaging and a super fast read. I really enjoyed the premise of this one (I mean we have all watched documentaries about convicted murderers/wrongfully convicted folks and everyone has an opinion on the death penalty), and felt at times it was a little predictable, but not too often, so it makes for a super immersive read.

Sam is a character who initially comes across as insipid and weak, and then when you see later is actually a hot mess in life. She is a particular brand of strange, because she pushes people away, has a super mean streak that bubbles to the surface from time to time, is super jealous and she lives in her head and shuts out the world. She also made Dennis her life, her whole world, and that is just sad. The relationship between Dennis and Sam is an odd one, and he is a cruel bastard to her at times, but she, too, is just weird. They are not particularly well suited for one another, and yet you want to read all there is to read about their twisted romance.

I did like the way that the book was structured, skipping between a book that was written about Dennis Danson and the accusations levelled against him, as well as letters between him and Sam, and then to what is going on between them in real life. It definitely works to keep up suspense. The book is really well written and lingers with you when you (sadly) have to go about your day to day (read: job that pays your bills) activities. I just wanted to read!

I am impressed that The Innocent Wife is Amy Lloyd's first novel, and will most certainly be keeping my eyes peeled to see what else she comes up with in the future. I would say that this book is well worth the read!

** spoiler alert ** Samantha. Clingy, paranoid and possessive Words uses by Mark to describe Sam, the woman with whom he wanted a “no-strings” relationship. Sam knew how to sulk and her fighting destroyed their relationship, in Bristol.

Sam takes to her computer and comes across an online group campaigning for a case review for ‘the boy from Red River’, a prisoner on Death Row in the USA, found guilty of the horrific murder of a young girl some 20 years ago. Sam doesn’t just participate, she becomes involved. Why on earth would she do that? There are many persons in the USA who consider the verdict unsound. Dennis Danson is innocent…

Sam begins to correspond with Dennis - for months. Declares that she loves him. Naive and sentimental, stupid even. When he replies that he loves her too she decides to travel to Florida where Danson is incarcerated, to meet him. Meets his campaign team and… decides to marry him. A strange companionship develops between Sam and Dennis, either side of a visitor’s glass screen. And all the time I felt somewhat detached from the story line…

When the totally unexpected happens and another inmate confesses to the murder, Danson is pardoned and released from prison amidst mounting media hysteria. Sam is faced with the reality of a real husband/wife relationship.

Revelations emerge about other girls who went missing from Red River, so many years ago. Sam becomes indignant when locals voice their opinion that Danson was responsible. But as their relationship develops, doubt starts to fill Sam’s mind. Is there anything in these accusations? Does her paranoia emerge? Does she find evidence that she tries to conceal? Foolhardy?

There is much more to the plot that, to reveal, would spoil for others.

For me? It did not make my pulse race. It is well written, but I expected more.

With thanks to Random House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting and unusual premise and the story was quite interesting but the writing style was a tad superficial which detracted from the characterisation and meant that this fell short of where it might have been. Disappointing.

Overall this book was good however I found the start a bit slow. The story once it gets going is interesting but I found it hard to like most of the characters. Sam the leading lady is a little namby pamby for me and despite her reservations marries a recently released death row inmate. I found it hard to empathise with her. Dennis the inmate is cold and calculating and I felt uneasy when reading about him, so in this respect the book is good as it evoked an edge of your seat response from me. I found the ending a bit rushed and again I wanted to shake Sam inot reality. The reading of this book was easy, however disliking most of the characters distracted me from enjoying it completely.

I was intrigued by this book. I've recently watched the Making a Murderer series on Netflix and there seems to be a lot of similarities to Dennis Danson in The Innocent Wife. Man is imprisoned for something it appears impossible that he has done. The public rally to get him released, and ask for new evidence. However, I wasn't convinced by Samantha's character. I appreciated that Sam was meant to have some flawed characteristics, but they just made her seem whiny and annoying to me. I find it difficult to root for a character I don't like. I also hate reading about characters falling in love when they barely know each other, and that seems to be exactly what happened in the beginning of the book. It appeared that they were falling in love over quite a long time, but the reader wasn't shown that, and so it felt a little awkward. Even though I didn't like Samantha, I thought that Amy Lloyd has done a really good job with the pacing in this book. I was on the edge of my seat for a lot of it and really did feel nervous in some of the more dramatic scenes! I also thought that the ending was very satisfying, and exactly how it should have ended. I would definitely recommend other people picking up this book - I just don't think it was for me.

If you were a fan of "Making a Murderer" then you will love this!
My only quibble is that the ending came in a bit of a rush and boom! It was over!
Between a 4 and 5 star I think!

I thought when I starting reading this book it would be usual grip lit. I was surprisingly wrong.
The book centred around a Death Row Prisoner and his relationships with those around him. With the question being How well does anyone know him?
The main character was explored well, however other lead characters and even important peripheral characters were skimmed over and not enough depth given. I did feel that Sam, the girlfriend/wife could have been explored a lot more and an explanation as to why she was fascinated with this man on Death Row.
This was a real page turner without being overly complicated and I finished this book in one evening, storyline was good, twist at the end which was expected as with all good thrillers. Nice that the ending was left open so a sequel is possible.
I will be recommending this book to others, perfect reading for a cold winter's night.

This book was given to me to read and review by Netgalley.

Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. Well I have to say this book had me wanting more. It took a while to get into the story, I thought it went on a bit before the actual story started. I was for closing it after chapter 3 but kept going, I’m glad I did. It turned out to be a very good book. Great storyline and great characters they played the part well. Good suspense book and good twist at the end, although I kinda figured it out early on. Worth 5 stars and I’ll recommend it to anyone.

This one was not for me and was just ok. It meanders along at too slow a pace and I felt that the story was not very well developed.

Good story, kept me intrigued enough to keep reading, slightly unnerving but well written, will definitely look out for more books from Amy Lloyd

It was easy to see (in the early stages) which way this book was headed from the interactions between Sam and Dennis, therefore there were few surprises along the way. One wanted to shout in panto fashion, “He’s behind you!” to the needy Sam in the shadow of the too good to be true Dennis. The best past was the latter third when the pace hotted up and the ending was in sight.

Couldn’t wait to read this. Really got into it. Struggled with the end thou, I kinda knew what was gonna happen early on. Good read just didn’t find the twists and turns were unexpected

I enjoyed this book. Well written, with a good story line and strong characters.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Amy Lloyd for the copy of this book. I was asked to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

This book started out well and would have scored 5 stars for much of it. I liked the premise - a British girl, Sam, starts a letter correspondance with Dennis, who has been on Death Row in America for almost 20 years. A lot of people believe that Dennis is innocent of the murders he was convivted of and are campaigning to have his sentence overturned. Sam gets more amd more involved finally flying to be with Dennis in the States.

Things progress at a good pace and the writing is good with plenty of action. It was a quick and gripping read but then all seemed to go fuzzy in the epilogue. There was a lot of action with characters seeing and remembering things with differing viewpoints and reasoning. I was left confused about what the ending was supposed to be and annoyed at having invested my time in the book.

Samantha writes to a prisoner on Death Row after watching a documentary on his wrongful conviction. She soon falls in love with him. Samantha should be ecstatic when Dennis is proven innocent and subsequently released. However, she soon finds that love behind bars is different to building a life together after moving to Florida to be with him. Suspicions continue to arise about the missing girls, and Samantha questions whether Dennis is the man she thought she married...

I liked this book: it was fast-paced with an addictive storyline. I was immediately drawn in by the premise of a woman writing to and falling in love with a man on death-row. Samantha is well fleshed out as the unhappy and unfulfilled school teacher from England and, of course, mentally unstable and reeling from a bad breakup for good measure. I particularly liked the light hand Lloyd deploys in her depictions of the underlying psychology of the characters; it is quite subtle compared to many of the giants in the genre in which it can often come across a bit too clunky and on the nose. Instead, she focuses on creating an atmospheric read with nuggets of information paced throughout, and I enjoyed this approach where it is left to the reader to decipher and theorise. On the whole, however, I did feel that something was missing for me for it to really go down as a favourite.

It is a very current novel, in that you can see the inspirations in Lloyd's writing as true crime documentaries have come to the fore in pop culture with Making A Murderer and the like. The climax was well-plotted; it felt unpredictable but I was not entirely surprised as well. I usually prefer this in this genre as plot twists that come out of left field often come across as gimicky in psychological thrillers and therefore do not stand up to repeat reads. I enjoy leaving a novel feeling that the dots match up in a surprising but not entirely shocking way. On the other hand, I felt like the ending, whilst interesting in terms of character study, ultimately felt too much like the go-to ending of today's psychological thriller titles. And this is coming from someone who only reads this genre every once in a while.

I am afraid I do not really have as much to say about this one. I really enjoyed reading it, but I am unsure whether it will stay with me. If you like psychological thrillers, this would be a good one to pick up and I will definitely be keeping track of this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy for review.

Many thanks to Amy Lloyd, Cornerstone and Netgalley for my ARC.
I have a thing for these kinds of stories. Murderers in prison and the women who love them. It's crazy. So l knew this book was going to be by jam the minute l read the blurb, and it didn't disappoint.
There were a few minor issues l had (especially at the beginning) with either the writing or the flow, but by half way l was full invested in the story and rushed to the end. So don't let this put you off, my complaints are really minor. And the second half was truly excellent.
Honestly, l wasn't a fan of the letters between our jailhouse lovebirds, l think it would have been really hard to express the growth of feeling that this pair supposedly had for each other through their letters. I think this aspect would have been better as a tell, rather than show type of writing.
For me, this book really hit its stride when newly exonerated Dennis (who may or may not be a serial killer) returns to his home of Red River with his new bride. Suspicion grows for his new bride, who starts to see another side to Dennis. But is she just driving herself crazy?
And the sense of place was perfect. Poor Samantha was so out of her element in Florida, the swampy bushland, the critters and the heat.
I think maybe the first third of this book was 3 stars and the last half was 5 stars, so l'm going to meet in the middle and call it 4 stars.
Amy Lloyd shows great potential, and l'm truly excited to pick up whatever she writes next (hopefully another thriller).

This seemed somewhat derivative of the premise behind Making A Murderer, but since I enjoyed that documentary, this book hit all the right notes for me. Tense and twisty, it did keep me engaged right until the dark and chilly end, I didn't warm to the central character, but I think that's deliberate and the plot was enjoyably silly. Fans of the genre will enjoy.