This certainly hits the psychological button as the reader is continually made to question whether a married couple would really carry out these crimes. Whether they could isn't so much a question as Downing provides a plot that carefully accounts for the women's disappearances without any suspicion being raised - until everything starts to become more complicated, of course. As a thriller you definitely want to know what they will do next and for some the ending may not be what's expected.

The plot was strong enough to compel me to read on but this first-hand account style of writing is, unfortunately, one that does not engage or appeal to me personally. However, for those who do like this, then this will be a definite recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph (Penguin Random House) for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was really looking forward to reading this. I didn’t find it the easiest of reads to get into though and it lacked the ability to grip me. The story was good though and I’m glad I pushed through. Recommended to fans of the genre.

I have given this one 5 stars as I thought it was amazing from the first page.. a real page turner, got me so hooked. The best I have read in a while. Psychological thriller at its best, a great twist you wouldn’t expect and . I loved the characters the plot. etc.. It is very well written and I would definitely recommend this, and I will be looking out for this author in the future.
Excellent thank you netgalley

Wow! What a debut. Absolutely brilliant, hooked from the first page. Fabulously written with great believable characters. Will be keeping an eye out for future releases by this author.

I was hooked by the first page and terrified by the end of the first chapter! Chilling psychological thriller. This story gave such an insight into the workings of the mind of a serial killer that I felt chilled reading it.
Very well written and as it was all brought to its culmination, I found myself devouring the last pages and on tenterhooks, desperate to know the final outcome.
Such a good read. Would highly recommend this one. Especially with that little twist in the last sentence! I closed the book thinking.......Oh - I wonder?

This book is certainly a page turner, whenever I had to put it down I couldn't wait to pick it up again. That being said, this is a book that makes you afraid of what is going to happen next. I really enjoyed the characters as well as the writing style. I was hooked from page one. The ending was totally unpredictable.
I loved this story, 4.5 stars from me.
I would definitely recommend this book to all my friends!!!

My Lovely Wife is a hugely twisted and utterly riveting read about the ups and downs of married life…

No it really is! It’s just this particular couple’s married life is somewhat unconventional…

My Lovely Wife is so very dark but absolutely delicious, Samantha Downing creates her characters with sharp, edgy insight then sets them loose on the reader to mess with their heads. The mundane everyday mixed with dastardly undertones, a narrative you can’t look away from with a cleverly woven unpredictable story, it is a pure joy to read.

What I absolutely adored about this book was the ebb and flow of the drama unfolding, with every passing chapter more character depth is revealed, events take on a different reality as you head towards the conclusion then the author finishes it off with flair, throwing a final bone to the reader to chew on, whilst recovering from the totality of what they’ve just read.

A genuinely intelligent character driven psychological thriller with immersive, layered writing- this is a book that reminded me why I still love this genre -because occasionally one comes at you from outside the box and when that happens you get that adrenalin reading rush.

Highly Recommended.

A twisted thriller about a couple who are not all they seem.

The set-up for My Lovely Wife is intriguing and it’s hard to avoid giving away too much in the way of spoilers. ‘Tobias’ narrates this story. He’s married to Millicent and they live together in an idyllic gated community in Florida with their two kids Jenna and Rory.

But the book opens up with Tobias claiming to be deaf and trying to pick up a woman in a bar. He’s scouting out a potential victim. And his wife is in on it.

This a dark page-turner, with young married couple who have some seriously unusual tendencies. Tobias is a tennis coach in the local country club. Millicent is a real estate agent who has sold numerous properties in and around their exclusive community.

But murder isn’t straightforward, and although Tobias and Millicent are in it together, they have their own separate roles – not always asking precisely what the other is doing. Things begin to unravel when to cover their tracks, they decide to construct a way to cover their tracks and keep investigators away from what’s really happening. Inevitably, this has unintended consequences.

The obvious comparison here would be the Dexter novels, but unlike those, the victims are mostly blameless. These are clearly twisted people.

The book is a rip-roaring read, and while I suspect that you could poke holes at some elements of the plot, the story is tightly constructed and makes internal sense. You’re certainly never sure how things will resolve themselves by the end, and the final act is tense as a consequence.

A read that pulls you in and makes you turn the page. The characters are unpleasant and the story is disturbing. If you like thrillers, this book is for you. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me review this book.

Coming off the back of some heavier literary fiction, I was ready to again delve into a page-turning thriller.

This is an easy read and did keep me turning the pages, essentially to confirm what I suspected to be the case in several respects.

I found it to be less a cross between Dexter and Mr and Mrs Smith and found it closer to Netflix’s You. The unnamed male narrator (we only ever get his pseudonyms) we find out early on is finding women to kill with his wife and try and keep this “other” life hidden from neighbours and their kids.

So, why not 5 stars? First, what was never explained was WHY the husband and Millicent were on this killing spree. That was incredibly frustrating. Second, I felt I could see the “plot twists” coming a mile off. Third, unlike Tom Ripley, Dr Jekyll or even Dracula, the main characters didn’t have enough charm for me to want them to get away with anything.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and Samantha Downing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book really trying in the beginning, but I persevered. Very unusual story line and hard to discuss without giving away spoilers.
I did not like the two main characters Tobias and Millicent, who were very disturbing people and not normal in every sense of the word. Full of dark thoughts, horror, murder.
Full of twists and turns and from the title, it was not what I expected and it was not for me but hey this book will appeal to someone. Many thanks to Penguin UK and Netgalley for this ARC.

I almost gave up reading this in the early chapters because it was rather unpleasant, but then I read some reviews which made me continue, although I did skim quite a lot, as it was boring and repetitive in the middle. The twists were not too difficult to guess and the ending was not much of a shock. The main characters are thoroughly nasty and the whole thing was really not what I want to read.

I was very kindly offered an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. I have given My Lovely Wife 4 stars.

Wow! When I was offered the chance to read Samantha Downing's debut thriller, I had no clue what to expect. Little did I know that I was about to be thrust into the shockingly dysfunctional marriage between Millicent and "Tobias".
Boy meets girl and they fall hopelessly in love. They marry and settle into a "normal" suburban life but their "extramarital" activities leave a lot to be desired. My Lovely Wife is edgy, dark and deeply disturbing and will leave you looking at your neighbours in different way. Who knows what is going on behind closed doors?

I couldn't put this story down. It was so messed up -Completely unputdownable!

I was totally engrossed in this sick and twisted story from the very first page, Samantha Downing has a very addictive writing style, it's smooth and moves along nicely, told from one POV, so there is no jumping around.
It was full of suspense and I found myself really enjoying, even after I had guessed the main plot twist I still found myself turning the pages greedily to see what happened. However, there was still plenty of twists to keep things interesting.

Definitely a story for those who love a psychological thriller with an edge.

A twisted tale about a perfectly normal happy couple with a lovely house and two children, on the face of it at least!!! CJ Tudor said it perfectly "Dextor meets Gone Girl". This is a hard book to review as it would be too easy to give away the plot and ruin it for others, its face paced and full of twists, some you will definitely not see coming, I swallowed this book whole, even hiding in the toilet away from the kids for a bit of peace to read alone! Will definitely be watching out for more from Ms. Downing if this one is anything to go by.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Firstly I’d like to thank Penguin UK for the ARC of this novel. Also thanks to NetGalley for facilitating. And of course thank you to Samantha Downing for a most unique read!

So, as usual there will be no spoilers in this book review!

This is a book like no other that I’ve read. Normally in serial killer books you might get a chapter or two written from the perspective of the killer and it’ll be anonymous. Not this book. The victims don’t get a say. They don’t get a voice. This is all written from the perspective of a twisted mind and it stands apart because of this.

Usually books where the synopsis talks about dark secrets and twists... well usually you can see them coming or at least have an inkling as to what is going to be revealed - but not here! I was reading it thinking that it hadn’t “gripped” me because I felt no connection or common ground with the main characters, and yet, I couldn’t stop reading - especially as the story gathered pace. But it wasn’t in the normal sense of “oh god I have to see what happens next”, it was “what on earth is going on here? This is macabre... I’ll read a little further and find out” and then the little further you read is even more twisted and leaves more and more questions.

I found it fascinating and intriguing... it is absolutely the darkest book I’ve ever read. That would be the trophy I’d hand out to this author - I have read A LOT of books. A lot of dark books, serial killer books, thrillers, horrors... whatever. But never read anything like this before. This takes the prize as the darkest book which elicited the highest levels of morbid curiosity I’ve ever felt in my life! Bravo!

A good debut novel from Samantha Downing. We are introduced to the perfect couple, living in a nice house with their 2 children. However, this couple have a very dark and disturbing secret which will send chills down your spine. I don't want to say too much about the plot as a lot has already been mentioned and I don't want to give away any spoilers. However, despite the far fetched premised I found that I enjoyed this book. The pace did seem to slow down a bit in the middle of the book but there are a few twists and turns in the story which will hold your interest. Hard to believe that this is a debut novel. I look forward to reading more by this author.

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Thank you to Penguin UK and netgalley for my arc in exchange for an honest review and feedback.
My Lovely Wife is such a great read. A real pageturner that's keeps you hooked. I finished the book within a day and couldn't put it down. It's hard to talk about the great aspects of the book without giving too much away, but wait for that last sentence. A real good solid thriller, that I would definitely recommend.

Wow. Just wow.

What a blinder of a book!! This is have your head reeling by the end. Start to finish it is truly incredible. If you are a fan of thrillers this is certainly a book for you.

What would you do if you were part of a murderous double act? Millicent and "Tobias" seem happy, they have it made, great jobs, a fancy house and a lovely family. However, they have a dark secret that will lead you on so many twists and turns you will get neck ache!

Loved this! I'll be raving about this book for a while I'm sure of it.

Oh my goodness, this is dark indeed. the perfect couple leading the perfect life with the two kids and yet........... I won't lie I found it a difficult read. There are no characters that you like, with the exception of Jenna the daughter. That said it is compelling reading as you get more and more sucked into the dreadful situation. 

It’s a rollercoaster alright and it won’t be for everyone but ultimately I enjoyed it and recommend it

When I received a copy of My Lovely Wife I had no idea what to expect. The blurb was deliciously vague, only letting readers know that the couple had secrets.

I initially set out to read just a chapter or two before bed but instead found myself tearing through the pages. Over a hundred pages passed before I could bear to put the book down. This morning I finished it.

With a hint of Netflix sensation You, the opening chapters drew me straight in. A man who purposefully meets women at bars? Maybe a little seedy but nothing awful, right. But what if one of those women turns up dead? He's a little more suspicious now....

I'm going to avoid telling you any more about the plot, as I think that might spoil the adventure.

The characters weren't likeable. This isn't a book about good people doing bad things. It is a book about bad people doing bad things, at least in my opinion. There was something endearing about that though. There was no trying to hide from reality.

The husband, our narrator, is a tennis coach. His wife an estate agent. The story of their first meeting is adorable and their life seems pretty perfect at first glance. Two children, a gorgeous house in a gated community.

But what could possibly go wrong?

You'll have to read this for yourself to find out!

My Lovely Wife will be published in May 2019.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin UK (Michael Joseph) and Samantha Downing for the opportunity to read My Lovely Wife in exchange for my honest review.