This is one of the best books I have read in the last 5 years! I was hooked from the start and was sad when it ended. The characters and prose is so well written I actually googled the lead characters name because it felt like the story I was reading was real. I am really looking forward to reading more from this author, I am officially a fan

The blurb:

HOW DO YOU CONFRONT YOUR HUSBAND WHEN YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH?
Twenty years ago, Dennis Danson was arrested and imprisoned for the brutal murder of a young girl in Florida's Red River County. Now he's the subject of a true-crime documentary that's whipping up a frenzy online to uncover the truth and free a man who has been wrongly convicted.
A thousand miles away in England, Samantha is obsessed with Dennis's case. She exchanges letters with him, and is quickly won over by his apparent charm and kindness to her. Soon she has left her old life behind to marry him and campaign for his release.
But when the campaign is successful and Dennis is freed, Sam begins to discover new details that suggest he may not be quite so innocent after all ...
The review:
Honestly... I'm really disappointed. I loved how this book started out, it was really fast paced and the storyline really gripped me... I couldn't wait to find out what happened. Then halfway through it just got a bit weird if I'm honest, things didn't flow as well as they had previously and we didn't get full answers to things, it's almost like the author was rushed to finish up and didn't have as much time to spend on the second half as they did the first half. It's readable and you still get the answers that you want but it just wasn't in the way/style that I was expecting after the highly powered start.
Somewhat clunky and confusing after a brilliant start.

I read the whole book but it was more to see how it ended, I wish I didn't as the ending was confused,somewhat predicted and extremely far fetched. It was obvious from the start that Dennis was guilty and I only read on to see if Sam survived (which she did, with. Baby on the way too) confusingly visiting Dennis in prison! You may think I have ruined the book for you but I've actually done you a favour! Now you won't have to read it

This is a good modern thriller with an unusual plot. Samantha lives in England. One night she watches a documentary about American murderer Dennis Danson who has been in prison for twenty years. There is a strong campaign to free him due to lack of evidence. She begins corresponding with Dennis and they form a relationship. She then leaves her home and job and goes to see Dennis in prison. Swept away by events, Samantha agrees to marry Dennis, they are then married prison. He is eventually released due to another man pleading guilty to the murder Dennis was accused of. Once on the outside Dennis becomes a different person! Samantha doesn't like what she sees, however is she as innocent as she seems? Read on!

Sam believes that the american, Dennis, was innocent of the murder he had been convicted of when just 18. She begins to correspond with him. Eventually she gives up her job and moves to the States. Life isn't the bed of roses she expected when her new husband is released from prison. Following her journey is quite sad, empathy for her character who only wants the best and finds the worst.

From the moment I read the blurb I was immediately reminded of the Netflix documentary Making A Murderer in that a convicted killer is at the centre of a documentary to prove his innocence and quash his death-row conviction. In this instance Dennis was convicted of the murder twenty years ago of a young girl, and suspected of killing other missing girls whose bodies have never been found. Having been the subject of books and a previous documentary, now he's the subject of a new film with renewed support and it's looking likely that an appeal could be possible much to the upset of the families of the missing girls.

I have to admit at first I did think it was a bit far-fetched that our other central character, teacher Sam, was so obsessed with his case via the internet and forums, so much so that she decides to write to him, confesses her love for him and then travel half-way across the world from England to visit him in prison. It's one thing to maybe correspond with a prisoner, but another to give up your job and leave your home behind without knowing what's in store for you in the future. It's a big gamble if the appeal is not a success and how well can you really get to know someone from letters alone.

The relationship between Dennis and Sam was simply bizarre, not just in the circumstances of their meeting and subsequent quick relationship, but also in the way they interacted with each other. It was clear that Sam had been hurt in the past and was desperate to love someone, and for someone to love her back, but Dennis appeared stunted emotionally, maybe because he'd been out of the dating loop all that time, so her affections seemed to be unwelcome most of the time. At many points whilst reading I really wanted to be able to say to Sam to open her eyes and see what was really going on around her for her own sanity.

As I was reading I was swinging one way, then the other, as to whether or not Dennis was innocent or maybe he was guilty after all. It's all in the details that unfolded about Dennis' childhood, his friendships and past events that are expertly woven into the storyline by the author. The more you read, the more you're questioning whether there had been a hidden agenda at play with regards to his conviction but at the same time there's always that niggling doubt...

Overall I did find The Innocent Wife to be an intense read once I put my concerns aside and just go with the flow with regards to everything that was unfolding, although I will confess that there were a few scenes that did turn my stomach with regards to the cruelty that was unfolding or the graphic descriptions I was reading.

Twenty years ago, Dennis Danson was arrested and imprisoned for the brutal murder of a young girl in Florida's Red River County. Now he's the subject of a true-crime documentary that's whipping up a frenzy online to uncover the truth and free a man who has been wrongly convicted.

A thousand miles away in England, Samantha is obsessed with Dennis's case. She exchanges letters with him, and is quickly won over by his apparent charm and kindness to her. Soon she has left her old life behind to marry him and campaign for his release.

But when the campaign is successful and Dennis is freed, Sam begins to discover new details that suggest he may not be quite so innocent after all.....

This was a fantastic debut novel and I will be looking out for this author again. I was hooked more or less from the start and found it an enjoyable, easy read. I had a couple of long bus journeys so it was great to be engrossed in my book and I read it in just a few days.

I was really reminded of real cases such as Making a Murder (especially in the beginning as the story explains Dennis' background, and the fact there was a documentary team trying to uncover the details) as well as news stories I have read about women marrying prisoners.

I gave this book 4.5 stars - the only reason it didn't get 5 stars was because the ending felt a little bit rushed after such a big build up and I was left slightly confused about the roles of each party in the earlier crimes. Having said that. it was not the ending I had predicted at all so I was kept guessing until the end!

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this and will be recommending it to friends and family as an entertaining read.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for giving me an advance copy in return for my honest opinion.

If you've ever wondered what prompts a woman to fall in love with a man on Death Row, then this book goes some way to answering the question. In Samantha's case, she has a pretty dull life as a teacher and is looking to escape after the break-up with her boyfriend. She has anger management issues and it's clear that Dennis not only gives purpose to her life but he's safely behind bars. thanks to the film crew and the efforts of the campaign to free Dennis, Samantha soon finds herself married to a man she barely knows and that's when the problems really begin. I enjoyed the suspense of not knowing if Dennis was guilty or not and whether Sam was in danger. Seeing how the world has moved on following Dennis's release is cleverly done and although the story is fairly predictable, it is well written.

This was a very interesting read and new topic although I believe the concept, of ladies writing to prisoners on death row in the USA, is still rife and popular as ever. I enjoyed the book very much, it was interesting to find that Samantha wasn't as nice or squeaky clean as we may have been led to believe during the early chapters. Whereas Dennis seemed to have turned a corner, becoming a caring, spiritual, health conscious individual upon release, or had he always been that way? The ending was unexpected, I was obviously hoodwinked as well, but a satisfying first novel. .

Firstly thank you to Net Galley and the publisher fir an ARC of this book.
The Innocent Wife is well written. It flows nicely and has good pace. I just wasn't a fan of the story as a whole. The first half of the book was too similar to a Netflix Documentary for my liking - lacked originality. The second half was better but just as the action was ramping up the book suddenly ends. I didn't really connect with the characters either.
Overall a good enough read but I would've preferred more of the 2nd half and less of the 1st.

Interesting and not at all what I had expected. Not a hugely gripping read though for me, I found it easy enough to get along with, but nothing that made me exclaim 'WOW'

For a first novel this book is amazing. The story is absolutely riveting, and you are never sure what is going to happen next. Sam is English, a bored schoolteacher aged 31, who has been dumped by her boyfriend. There is more to that story, but we don't find out till a long way into the book. She becomes fascinated by a story hitting the headlines about a man who has been on death row in America for more than twenty years. Dennis Danson denies that he killed a young girl. He is from a poor background, and had been seriously abused as a child, with an alcoholic father who regularly beat him, and a mother who neglected him; and the people who have rallied round him have found a lot of evidence to prove he did not get a fair trial, probably because of his wretched background.
Sam starts writing to him in prison, and gets lovely letters back from him; and decides to go to America to visit him. They get on well, and she becomes part of his support group, then rashly agrees to marry him, having only spent a few hours talking with him, in prison with thick glass between them. Then evidence turns up that proves he was not the murderer, and he is at last freed.

Sam is at that point overwhelmed, and who wouldn't be? She is married to a man she really doesn't know; and she gets very frustrated and upset because he clearly has little interest in her. Then things start to happen that start to make her feel uncomfortable, and she is not sure that her husband is as innocent as it once seemed. Other girls went missing in his town, and they are still unaccounted for. Many people from the area think that he is responsible.

Amy Lloyd builds up a tense and intriguing story, you are never sure what is going to happen next. The characters are strongly written, none of them particularly likeable, but all of them compelling in different ways. The author conveys a story that feels very real, and the events are quite logical, however I doubt that many people will have worked out the ending much before they actually read it.

An excellent story, well worth reading.

I could have sworn I was reading about a real life situation - a lot of the storyline felt extremely real and fresh, as though I had just been watching a documentary on television about something similar. I hadn't, but that's what it felt like. Take Samantha writing to an inmate and falling in love, for example. Predictable may be, but believe it or not, that type of thing happens a lot more than people realise. Was I able to relate to that part of the book? No! After all, I have never contacted an inmate, nor have I fallen in love with them via their literary skills. For that reason alone, I found Samantha's character (to begin with), a little farfetched. Maybe that was because I couldn't really understand her actions, or maybe it was because I found them to be absolutely bonkers. Either way, Samantha's action and the notion of finding out whether Dennis was innocent or not, made my curiosity soar. Did he murder that girl? What on Earth possessed Samantha to write and fall in love with a man convicted of murder?

Predictable or not, nothing can fault the authors' clever way of pulling in her readers with this sort of storyline.

From the get go, Dennis' character unnerved me - not because of the fact he was convicted of murder, although that didn't really help, but because there was something about the man who made me want to shout out 'SAMANTHA, NO!!!!!'. I had absolutely no idea whether he was innocent or not, but due to the way in which the storyline gets going, readers are pointed down the 'innocent' route. 'The Innocent Wife' has such a complex and dark theme to it, a lot of readers may come up with their own interpretation of certain events. I know I did. Some readers may also find themselves going against the authors' storyline in favour of what they think happened. Amy Lloyd has given readers the opportunity to read between the lines and see parts of the storyline in a completely different way to what she had originally intended - and probably without realising it. Personally, I loved how the bare bones of the story were crafted, yet the in-depth situations were sporadic with information, allowing readers minds to fill the gaps with their subconscious. How clever is that?

The further I got into the book, the more I became hooked on Samantha's situation. My opinion of her did end up changing, but not by much. I couldn't empathise with her a lot due to the choices she voluntarily made (not that I believed she deserved certain things of course), but because it became crystal clear that she hadn't thought about her decision properly and now she was paying the price.

Being totally honest, there were parts of the storyline which made me roll my eyes because of how farfetched it was. However, I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I was going to at the start. I was pleasantly surprised by the dark and psychologically twisted themes throughout the entire book, as they made for such interesting and intense reading.

A cleverly written, dark and twisted tale which will leave you questioning your abilities to think logically.

Along with many other readers, I too have often wondered what makes a woman want to contact a prisoner on death row. Although I'm fascinated by serial killers and the stories behind them I personally would never want to be friends (or anything more) with one! Samantha obviously doesn't feel the same way, maybe it's her seemingly lonely life or lack of self confidence that leads to her obsession with Dennis Danson, a man imprisoned 20 years ago for the brutal murder of a young girl. What starts with a letter to Dennis [and an unexpected reply] leads to a trip to the States where Samantha falls for this man who surely must be innocent of this horrific crime?
After being the subject of both a documentary and a successful campaign, Dennis is freed and Samantha looks forward to starting her new life as Dennis's wife. Has Samantha left her lonely life behind or made the biggest mistake of her life? Is Dennis an innocent victim or a vicious killer?

I highly recommend you read this book and find out for yourself! For myself, I look forward to reading more from Amy Lloyd.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with a copy in return for an honest review.

Dennis Danson is on Death Row for the murder of a young girl twenty years earlier in Red River, Florida. He's the subject of a true-crime documentary, currently in production, which aims to clear his name and secure his release.

Schoolteacher Samantha, disillusioned with her life in Britain, takes an interest in Dennis' case and writes to him on Death Row. He replies and their relationship blossoms through their correspondence.

Convinced of his innocence, Samantha leaves Britain and becomes Dennis' wife. She joins the campaign for his release - ever hopeful of starting a new life with the man she loves. However, after Dennis regains his freedom, little things begin to niggle Samantha and she starts to doubt her husband's innocence.

Author Amy Lloyd has written a gripping, character-driven, debut psychological thriller. There's an underlying sense of tension throughout - you're unsure whether Dennis is innocent or if he is, in fact, a master of manipulation and a monster. This made the book compulsive reading - I struggled to put it down until I discovered the truth.

Dennis and Samantha came across as believable characters. Samantha was searching for her Happy Ever After in a dull life 'filled' with emptiness. Writing to Dennis on Death Row gave her a new zest; although naively viewed thorough rose-tinted spectacles. Dennis, on the other hand, was confident and handsome but controlling and flawed.

I really enjoyed Amy Lloyd's writing. The story flowed nicely and it was perfectly paced to allow just the right amount of creepiness to seep in. If you haven't got this book on your To Read list for 2018, I recommend you go and put it on there - like now!

The Innocent Wife

I've always been curious about what makes a woman become interested in a killer, who is doing time. It's not something I've read about before and as soon as I saw this book, I immediately requested it. I must say that the Innocent Wife did not disappoint. It's a real page-turner and a glorious example of the female thriller genre.
It's fast-paced and full of twists and turns. I highly recommend.

I cannot rate "The Innocent Wife" high enough. I started the book and was immediately drawn into the story as I am hooked on television programmes such as 'Making a Murderer' so the subject of the book was right up my street. I literally could not wait to see what the outcome of the book was and as a result I finished reading it in record time.

Sam is a plain Jane teacher from England who has found a love and fascination with convinced murderer Dennis Danson, who just happens to be on Death Row in America. Convicted of the murder of a young girl, a lot of mystery surrounds his imprisonment. Is he responsible for the murder of a string of other local girls? Is he really innocent? Why has he gained so much support? Will anyone truly know what happened to the other girls who have simply disappeared?

I did not find Sam to be a likeable character but I was reeled in to her story and her journey to being a 'prison penpal' to becoming Mrs Danson. The more the book went on the more it is obvious that Dennis appears to be hiding something but surely Sam would be able to tell if there was a truly sinister element to her husband who refuses to show love and intimacy to her.

Upon his release from prison Sam and Dennis come face to face with a number of coincidences that the authorities automatically blame Dennis for. Is it a case that Dennis cannot escape his tarnished history no matter how innocent he may be or is he really the monster who could harm people and animals alike?

As I said before. I could not get enough of this book. I wanted to know if Dennis was innocent and why he refused to go near his new wife. I was also enthralled by Dennis' ex-girlfriend Lindsay and why she was such a big part of the storyline. Whilst none of the characters were likeable I still rooted for Sam and that her relationship would go all the way.

The twists and ending just blew me away and I commend Amy Lloyd for writing such a brave and immense debut novel. I will be raving about this book for months to come.

As soon as I read the description of The Innocent Wife by Amy Lloyd I couldn’t help be intrigued by it. I’ve heard of woman becoming pen pals to prisoners and forming relationships with them and as a massive fan of “Making A Murderer” so I couldn’t wait to dive into this one. This is a really interesting and unique premise for a thriller. It doesn’t follow the typical layout of serial killer/murderer on the run, but rather features a man already convicted proclaiming his innocence. It’s like the sequel to most thrillers I’ve read, and I can’t deny I was drawn into the story – which clearly draws influence from Making A Murderer. If you are a fan of true crime documentaries then this is a book you won’t want to miss, as it’s a story which reads very much like a true crime story.

The Innocent Wife is a superb thriller. It switches gear several times from the true crime story at the start to a dysfunctional relationship to a rip-roaring conclusion. There’s so much psychological depth to the characters, so much complexity in Samantha, that the book is elevated above a standard thriller.

Lloyd turns the spotlight on the question of hype and crusades interfering with the judicial system. Although Dennis seems to be innocent of the murder of one young girl there is still question of what happened to all the other missing girls in his home-town. Is he really a victim of the wrong place and wrong time or do his friends and neighbours know something that isn’t tangible, but is enough to convince them of his guilt? These are the questions Samantha also has to ask herself, although to be perfectly frank she seems to enjoy the excitement of being right in the middle of all the controversy. Samantha also has her own issues with impulse control, jealousy and being borderline criminal. You would think a character who has spent twenty years on death row would be the only flawed character but no, you could say it is was match made in heaven.

With a myriad of strong, believable characters Amy Lloyd has created a monster of a book. Samantha, the insecure girl, desperate for love and stability. Dennis, a charming handsome ex-con, who wants his freedom and retribution for being locked up for a crime he did not commit. Carrie, the enthusiastic filmmaker, who has spent years together with Patrick, the director, making documentaries and trying to find the truth about Holly Michaels’ horrific murder and Lindsay, from Dennis’ hometown, who shares a strange secretive history with Dennis.

The majority of the plot is based on did he or did he not do it? So throughout the book there is a sinister and threatening undercurrent giving the reader an enormous sense of foreboding. Whilst the story lacks the numerous typical “exciting events” you would normally expect in a thriller, this slow burner is precise and compelling, and will keep you guessing on Dennis’ innocence right up until the very end.

The Innocent Wife is one very well crafted story and is full of mystery and suspense, and totally relevant to the times.

*Received from NetGalley for an honest review*

I requested this as I thought the premise of the story sounded quite intriguing, especially for a thriller, so I was expecting some good things.

I wouldn't say I was disappointed as there were some parts of this story that were good, and some that I just couldn't deal with (the consummation of their marriage, the garage scene etc).

I wasn't that big a fan of the characters, Dennis came off as a bit of a sociopath, and a bit of a douche to be honest. Sam was just so clingy, and jealous, and just reeked of desperation.
The only redeeming character out of the lot was Carrie, who I just thought was fantastic, and just so bubbly, as well as friendly.

I hear you cry why I gave 2 stars, the story was OK, and even though there were some parts I wasn't a fan of I did seem to breeze through this quite quickly

I Hate Everyone
It's very hard for me to read a book where I don't like any of the characters. Now, maybe some of you will be like well, that's kind of the point and to that I say - NOPE. I am a huge fan of unlikable characters. Think Gillian Flynn's heroines or Lionel Shriver's characters. I am there for people not being great. Especially if it's women. But what I need is depth. And I got none of that. I feel like the author tried to do a character study of these people, but I felt like that did not work at all. Samantha had a very clumsy characterization, and I felt like none of her actions made sense. For me, even with an unreliable narrator, or someone who is like Samantha, and has very low self-esteem, a character has to have grounding. They have to make sense and these people just don't. Their actions and their words and conversations just don't really go together and I had a really hard time feeling anything for any of them.
Like with Dennis, I think the author wanted us to be uncertain about him, the sort of did he/didn't he, but it was all very forced and artificial and there was none of that uncertainty there.

The Plot is Non Existent
Listen, I will take characters over plot any day. ANY DAY. But if you have a book that's just things happening and they are not there for characterization - then I need a plot. If you have all this exposition, all of this empty space of just mundane life without using that to develop your characters, then you might as well give a plot that will grab me. There was no plot and no characterization here. It was just descriptions of days upon days and then, at 90 percent, we got some explanations (which were so anticlimactic, let me tell you) and the book wrapped up and left a lot to be desired.

Everything is Unbelievable
The thing I struggled with the most is how unbelievable all of this was. I could not suspend my disbelief for a second. The author kept dropping celebrity names to ground the story in reality and it did not work. She also kept putting these matter of fact feminist things that were just there to make a side character, Carrie, work. And it felt so strained and forced and unbelievable and made it seem like she was using feminism as a trend. And just the rest of it was so ridiculous. Them falling in love, friendships that didn't make sense, the fact that Dennis never saw a phone before, THE ENDING - I just didn't believe any second of this book could have happened.

It Felt like a Debut
I found the writing to be a little bit clunky and I felt it lacked in vividness. I don't think the author managed to transfer feelings the right way. I didn't feel uneasy or scared when I know I was supposed to. She was explaining these horrifying things happening to girls and I was sitting there with a straight face thinking when is this book gonna be over.

Redeemable Qualities
I read this whole thing. There was something about the small town despair and the setting that worked for me. Also, I hoped the ending would be somewhat different and the rest of the story might have worked better for me if that were the case. I think the way the author portrayed Dennis struggling with the adjustment to life after 20 years of prison was interesting and the way the community treated him was also well done. There was also some stuff about online life and discussions and things and I think that was done well.

I personally did not have a lot of fun with this book. While it had some slightly redeemable qualities about it, it really left a lot to be desired, for me personally. So I would not recommend you pick this one up.