I really struggled to get into this book, and almost gave up a few times during the first few chapters, but despite the very slow start I’m glad that I carried on reading it, although somewhat confusing at times it was overall an enjoyable book, with plenty of twists.

# The Starter Wife #
At first I thought this was a bit slow getting off the ground. However I persevered and it did pick up quite a lot, from after Emily Is sister got drunk and let it slip that at one point her brother was a suspect in his first wife’s suicide. I couldn’t put the book down from there on in. If you can get past the slow start then it’s most definitely a book with reading, it’s like a rollercoaster of a ride from that point on. Sorry no give sways from me. I hate give sways they in my opinion can and have put me off a book. So give this one a go, I am glad I persevered, it turned out to be a bloody good book.

I couldn't enjoy this book. I don't know why, I just didn't get sucked in at any point. I didn't like the characters and I couldn't relate to anything happening. It was slow for me to read, I kept getting bored and putting it down with no inclination to pick it up again. I managed to finish it and not DNF it but I wish I had as the ending was flat. I really wanted to love this as the synopsis sounded brilliant but it just wasn't.

I enjoyed reading this thriller - in spite of the fact that all the main characters were rather dis-agreeable. The university professor / student relationship is engaging and believable. There were plenty of twists and turns that kept me wanting to read the next chapter.

I would say, that I probably expected some type of hero to root for but I guess like life - that isn't always the case!!

‘The Starter Wife’ is a thriller with numerous twists and turns and many secrets and lies. This is a new author to me, which is great. I can seek out more and definitely will be.

Claire is married to an older man, a Professor of English Literature, Byron. Byron’s first wife, Colleen, was believed to have committed suicide even though the body was never found. Claire discovers that Byron was questioned over the death of his former wife and starts to dig into his background.

It is clear that something is wrong as Claire is surrounded by Colleen’s artwork and living in the house Byron and Colleen shared. The storyline begins to unravel as we find out more about Byron and Claire without understanding what the relationship is and how it fits together.

Claire begins to receive emails and they sound as if they are from his ‘dead’ wife and we begin to doubt whether Colleen is dead.

Highly entertaining and one of those unputdownable books where I wasn’t sure when the next twist would happen and what it would be and certainly where we would end up.

Many thanks to NewGalley, Hodder & Stoughton, Mulholland and Nina Laurin for my ARC in return for my honest review.

Brilliant read, highly recommended.

The Starter Wife by Nina Laurin was absolute roller coaster of a domestic suspense book. In the beginning it was a tad confusing but as I got into it more I couldn't put it down. That ending was just crazy - and I loved it. When a book goes off on so many tangents and keeps you guessing I know it is a good book!

Claire is Byron's second wife. They seems relatively happy but the shadow of Colleen - Bryon's first wife who committed suicide- hangs over their relationship. Byron is still in love with her and Claire is threatened by her - and is not convinced that she is dead. She becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her - literally stopping at nothing to find out the truth. You won't believe where this one goes. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.

I really wasn't a fan of this book if I'm being honest - I found the storyline weak and confused, I didn't warm to the characters and by the end i wasn't overly bothered by the ending

Goodness, I had to concentrate and go back over bits to get the drift of this. Lots of twists and turns, but essentially a good read.. Byron's first wife had died..or had she? Claire needs to find out and this takes us on her journey....a few unanswered questions and holes in the plot..but it did keep me going until the end. Don't want to give out any spoilers...
Give it a try.

I’m still really confused by this!! The story was compelling, and I really enjoyed the twists and turns but feel like I need to go back and read it again to work out what really happened. There are some gaping plot holes that weren’t resolved at all, and don’t really make sense in the context of the ending, but it was an enjoyable read and certainly kept me guessing.

THE STARTER WIFE

I found this quite confusing to begin with as the narrative seems to jump about a bit but I got into it after a while. The story is about Claire, who is married to Byron, whose first wife committed suicide. It is clear that Byron has not really got over the loss of his first wife and there is evidence of her around the house that Byron will not get rid of. Colleen was an artist and much of her work is displayed around the house, which understandably makes Claire doubt Byron’s feelings for her and makes her very insecure.
I did not like any of the characters in the book and didn’t really feel I got to know them very well. Claire seems slightly unhinged and has a very short fuse. She loses her temper at the drop of a hat and has quite a nasty streak in her. In that respect I didn’t really care what happened to any of the characters in the book. There were a few events in the book I didn’t really understand. Claire was trying to dig into her husband’s past on Facebook and I didn’t get what she was trying to achieve by that. She is clearly obsessed with Byron so I couldn’t figure out why she wanted to find out things about his past.
On the positive side it was quite a quick read and once I understood what was going on it became much easier to follow. There is a twist in the book as one would expect and I think the twist was not a big surprise in a way. I generally like this genre of book and didn’t dislike this either. It just didn’t particularly grab me in the way others have.
Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Wow what a great book.
Claire is Byron’s second wife after his first wife died....or did she.
Great plot. Kept me turning the pages.
Really enjoyed
Thank you

This was a fast pace, entertaining domestic thriller I enjoyed.
Claire Westcott is the second wife of Byron. The first one committed suicide and he's still in love with her. But, one day Claire receives a call from the first wife. There starts the investigation.
I thought it was very accessible, fun and well written with a nice twist. I'd recommend it.

Thanks a lot to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Well written but rather slow to start thriller that picked up pace further in. I did find it a little confusing in places though.

Claire Westcott is married to Byron but she is his second wife and he is still in love with his first who committed suicide. Then Claire receives a call from the wife, Colleen.
It starts her investigating the first marriage and throws up many questions. But who can answer them? and what will the outcome be?
This is a fast pacing book with an incredible twist at the end.

I think that there was a great plot lurking somewhere between the pages of this book, but it just didn't materialise for me. The unreliable narrator can work incredibly well, but here the timeshifts, the events at the diner, and the drugged wine just felt confusing. I think that there could have been more tension and better clarity if there had been another narrator to add a counterpoint to Claire's point of view. Instead, Byron is largely absent from the book, either physically or mentally, and I just couldn't understand why he didn't try to get any real help. This is why the big twist just fell a little flat to me.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

I really wanted to like The Starter Wife but for some reason, I just didn’t enjoy it. I found it overly long and the plot just didn’t seem to run smoothly. The first half of the book, I was ready to give up but stuck it out hoping for some great twists at the end. I know others have loved this book but sadly for me it was rather lacklustre.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder and Stoughton and the author for the chance to review.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I really enjoyed this fast paced read, I found myself at times though getting a bit cross with Claire.

Starter Wife or should that be find the Phycho!!!

If you like a thriller that twists and turns and has its fill of Red Herrings this is the latest one for. A great and gripping story of Young Claire whose married to the older Professor of Classic Literature Byron. They have been married a couple of years and something is not right the honeymoon period it appears is over and Claire wakes up to a empty bed because Byron has gone of to work whilst his young wife hasn't stirred yet.
As things change Claire finds out the the first wife is not only dead having committed suicide but no body was ever found, she also discovers that the perfect Byron was questioned and there could be more to it than she first realise!! Plus there are some strange messages that appear emails and txt's that spoke her out. With the number of possibilities growing and a txt from her sister whom she hasn't seen in a few years an infact very rarely since she fled the family home when she turned 18 leaving Claire behind. There is the receptionist at her fertility clinic, or Byron's assistant, Derek Byron's friend or his sister, and plenty more out there or even is it more obvious.
I enjoyed this thriller very much and hope you do even more and will see how easy it was to give it 5 stars well written gripping and full of adventure or action. The characters are great believable and everyone has a last to play the bit part players and the main stars of the show the pace is good and carries you with it you will not be left behind, but I'm sure you will love it if you like thrillers that..... Well i said that at the beginning

A lovely thriller to get your teeth stuck in.

I was excited to read this after the blurb and I enjoyed it a lot. The story was compelling and it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

Claire is obsessed with her husband Byron, a college lecturer who is much older than she is and is desperately afraid that he is going to leave her. She is his second wife and worries that Byron still mourns for his dead first wife. Her behaviour becomes more and more erratic as she tries to save her marriage. To say more would reveal too much, let's just say that there are plenty of surprises to come.

Claire wasn't a particularly sympathetic character - much too whiny for me - but in the context of what happens this is fine. I enjoyed this book. and would read more by the author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC