Cover Image: The Wife Stalker

The Wife Stalker

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I expected to be fully prepared for whatever this fantastic writing duo might throw at me, having previously read both The Last Mrs. Parrish and The Last Time I Saw You. But once again I was caught out by the eye-popping twist that I really had no idea about. The Wife Stalker was a marvellous, mesmerising read that had me convinced I knew how it would all pan out but I was so off the mark!

The reader gets to meet married couple Joanna and Leo Drakos who have two very sweet children, a beautiful house in a chic area of Connecticut, and an enviable lifestyle. Then Piper Reynard arrives on the scene. Piper is young, attractive, flirtatious and always gets what she wants... and she wants Leo. For his part, besotted Leo is unable to resist her magnetism. Desperate to hang on to her husband, jilted Joanna begins rummaging around in Piper’s past, and discovers some very disturbing secrets.

Told from both Joanna’s and Piper’s viewpoints the reader becomes privy all sorts about their respective childhoods, current lives, complicated relationships with parents, as well as previous partners. This book shouts 'unreliable narrators', because it was so difficult to work out the truth from the lies.

I was not disappointed with this novel as it was an absolute treat. For me, it was a best read of the year. The Wife Stalker is a must for anyone who likes their psychological thrillers to be all about far-out, unequalled endings.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel at my request from HarperCollins UK/ HarperFiction via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.

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You’ll NEVER see this twist coming!
Their lives seem golden, but they’re hiding some very dark secrets…

Joanna and Leo seem to have the perfect relationship. Two adorable children, a beautiful house in a chic area of Connecticut – they have the kind of life people envy.

Then Piper moves to town. Piper is young, attractive, flirtatious. It’s almost no wonder Leo is tempted away…

Devastated, Joanna starts digging into Piper’s past, and discovers some very disturbing secrets – not least that Piper’s previous two husbands ended up dead. But Piper dismisses Joanna’s fears for her family as paranoia. Who is telling the truth? Joanna? Piper? The only certainty in this web of lies is that no one is who they appear to be…and no one will escape unscathed.

I am utterly disappointed, I thought the blurb sounded really exciting and was looking forward to getting stuck In. We are firstly introduced to the characters Piper, Joanna and Leo. Next thing Piper has her sights set on Leo. I am afraid that this was written like a Romance and though I occasionally choose a Romance as an easy read, this was not what I had hoped for.. I do not want to read any further. I have given up. I do not like this beginning and can not read any further.

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Having read a previous @livconstantine2 book "The Last Mrs Parrish" I was very happy to receive a copy of "The Wife Stalker" from Harper Collins UK and Net Galley. From the first chapter I was gripped by the lives of the seemingly perfect Connecticut couple, Joanna and Leo with their children Evie and Stelli. The novel is alternately narrated by Joanna and Piper, Leo's new love. From Piper's arrival we witness Leo cast Joanna aside and become wrapped up in his new life with the young and attractive Piper. As a reader we question Leo's motives as he removes his children from Joanna and ceases all contact with her. What unravels is a tense unfolding of events - and ones you definitely won't see coming. As I got to the last twenty pages, I was met by a sentence which baffled me and made me re-read the chapter with somewhat of a furrowed brow! I was confused but then BAM - all become clear and I was reminded of what the Constantine sisters did in "The Last Mrs Parrish". They guide you somewhere ever so gently, make you form judgements of characters (and pretty strong ones), pick up the pace and then pack the killer punch with changing the direction entirely and make you want to start reading again, with the fresh knowledge that things aren't exactly as they seemed after all.

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4.5 stars!

First, a thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for this ARC!

This story was packed with excitement from the first page. It remained steady and exciting throughout, right until the very end.... when the whole story exploded into a messy, twisted, crazy, wild ride!!

Just when you think there are no surprises left, you realize you’re absolutely wrong! Nah-ah, it’s jam packed with another mind blowing surprise! Never in a million years did I see the end coming.

This story is about a family - Leo, Joanna, Edie and Stelli, being torn apart by a younger woman, Piper, coming into their life and stealing Leo away for herself. Piper attempts to make Joanna’s family her own and does everything in her power to control that. The story is told by the two women: Piper and Joanna. After Leo moves on, Joanna becomes that psycho ex who constantly stalks him and his new wife. She digs into Piper’s past life and begs Leo to leave because Piper is dangerous.... but is she? And what did she do that was so bad that she’s convinced Leo and the kids are doomed?

If I go on, I’ll reveal too much, so please pick this book up! It’s definitely worth the read!

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A Fiendish Finale.....
Seemingly perfect lives hide a multitude of sins in this twisting psychological suspense. A rollercoaster read with a host of unlikeable characters leading to a fiendish finale.

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Thank you to NetGalley & Harper Collins UK for the advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Wife Stalker narrates the perspectives of Joanna, devoted to Leo, Evie & Stelli, and Piper, an attractive temptress with previous form as a siren with the untimely passings of two former husbands to her name. Joanna's devastation at Piper's entrance into the household prompts an investigation into Piper's past. With limited time on her hands, can Joanna save the Drakos family and will anyone believe her?

The Constantine sisters have done it again - this was an absolutely fabulous fast paced read which shocked me to the core when the last 25 pages brought a twist that left me questioning everything that I thought I had known up to that point. So cleverly was this written that I truly had no idea and was left baffled how I had not been able to glean even a small spark of the story hidden beneath the one that I thought I had been reading. I'm always even more impressed by those writers who collaborate on a novel with no trace left of any disparate styles or character affiliations, as if it is truly one pen gracing the page. Inhaled within 48 hours, I loved this book, its short punchy chapters keeping me enthralled far past my bedtime. Five stars from me and highly recommended for addition to your summer reads.

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I really enjoy books that start straight at the action and The Wife Stalker definitely does! You get one chapter to meet Piper and learn any backstory although little is mentioned. My first impressions of Piper weren’t good...but she’s exciting and fun while Joanna bored me. Clearly Leo was bored as well!

I wish they’d been a little more mystery to the writing. It became a little predictable. It’s also very black and white. This is wrong and this is right. At first I thought if we didn’t have Pipers point of view it would read better but Pipers through perspective the story really begins to build, the more I read the more chills I had !

The twist was okay. I wish more hints had been given though!

Overall I liked this book but I like a lot of books. I don’t think it stood out enough from other thrillers on the market. 3/5

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I was excited to read this, having very much enjoyed The Last Mrs Parrish. This one, I felt, was slightly rushed in comparison - the writing not quite as startling and the characters a bit two dimensional. But the plot was tight, the stakes high and those pages were turning themselves. I raced through it and, as other readers have commented, the final twist was impossible to predict. A fun, fast paced domestic noir.

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What a twist this book has you will not see it coming ... a great read that kept me gripped until the very end .... Leo meets Piper but the other woman in Leo’s life Joanne cannot move and so begins to stalk the couple uncovering lots of ghosts in Pipers past .. obsessed she does all she can to make other know about Pipers past and the two previous husbands who both died in tragic accidents. Piper meanwhile is trying to build relationships with Leo’s two children however all is not as it seems .highly recommend this book once finished I downloaded more by this author

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Oh. My. Goodness. What a book. I absolutely can’t rate this book enough.
It completely took me by surprise at the end which doesn’t happen that often.
I kept wondering why certain things happened but they all became clear at the end. I can’t say too much because I don’t want to spoil it. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

Thank you so much to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in return for my honest review.

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Liv Constantine is officially responsible for a day of me being unproductive. Because I could not put this down. I couldn't get through this quick enough to find out what was going on and I wasn't disappointed.

I was a huge fan of The Last Mrs Parrish and in my opinion this stellar duo have smashed it again with The Wife Stalker. Piper Reynard breezes into Westport with a size 0 figure, a penchant for mindfulness and her sights set on Leo Drakos. (He does sound wonderfully handsome!) Joanna is committed to being a great wife to Leo and mother to Evie and Stelli. Needless to say things don't go smoothly when Piper charms her way into Leo's life. Joanna's senses are heightened as she learns more about Piper's shady background, her previous relationships and her discarded names. But will Joanna be able to protect Leo and the children before it's too late?

I'm a sucker for multiple points of view, so loved the fact this was written from the alternating perspectives of Joanna and Piper and the chapters were deliciously short and snappy. Stelli and Evie were wonderfully written, with some truly heartwarming scenes and others that made me laugh out loud. I guessed one of the more minor twists but the main one came as a s-h-o-c-k and made me immediately want to go back and start again from the beginning. Would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a tense thriller but as well as being a master of the twist, Constantine sets scenes beautifully - I found myself googling lots of the places described as they sounded amazing! This being the second novel by Liv Constantine I have read, I have definitely learnt that I need to expect the unexpected.

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I found this book quite hard going, l think it's more a romantic book than theiller. I did enjoy the short chapters.

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If you love twists then you are going to love this one! This is a fast read. It's pacey, thrilling and it keeps you guessing. Helps that the characters are all a bit screwball and do the most unexpected things. You do have to suspend your disbelief for a bit but it's worth it for the ride,

I enjoyed the change of narrator- the story and secrets are drip fed by the current wife and the ex wife.. Two very scary women with secrets of their own. I've not come across a mix like this quite before so that was a nice change.

I needed a book like this tonight. Had a long wait for something and this helped the time to fly by! Plus it's out tomorrow so that made me hurry too ;)

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Was interested to read that ‘Liv Constantine’ is actually the pen name of 2 Sisters who write books via daily Facetime chats and brainstorming seasions
This is a well told, very well told, tale of 2 women and a silly gullible man
Joanne has Leo
Piper wants Leo
Piper gets Leo
Joanne wants Leo back
Leo is, tbh, pathetic 😊
The story is told 1 chapter Joanne and 1 chapter Piper and the same event (s) described as they both see them unfurling ( and obviously very differently )
Then there are the 2 children and naturally 1 accepts Piper and 1 hates her and will do all he can to disrupt her and her plans for the family
It gets good when Joanne uncovers some ‘mystery’ surrounding Piper’s past and things come to a head when Joanne confronts everyone on a Christmas holiday and then the blurb of ‘ you’ll NEVER see this twist coming’ happens and I didnt see it coming and it was a shock and it was unbelievable, literally
A host of characters to dislike, I took an instant dislike to Piper and was on Joanne’s side almost from page 1, however some of the characters at times seemed reluctant to be there in the story almost as if they were there under duress!!
Any book that uses the word ‘rambunctiously’ has to be worth a read and for lovers ( like me ) of psychological thrillers who read a lot you may well compare this to other similar books and find it wanting but still glad you read it,enjoyable for what it is
7/10
3.5 Stars

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Another great book from Liv Constantine.
In Joanna’s mind she has the perfect life with Leo, Stelli and Evie but Leo is suffering with depression.
Joanna encourages him to try a meditation group but doesn’t realise she’s Introducing him to a woman he’s immediately attracted to.
Their relationship moves very quickly but the children are very wary of Piper.
Joanna moves out to care for her mum and it’s the end of her relationship with Leo as well. She struggles a great deal not seeing the children as much and then all ties are cut after an incident while they’re in her care.
Joanna finds out some information about Piper and tries to persuade Leo that she’s a danger to him and the children, but it falls on deaf ears.
The book comes to a breathtaking conclusion and turns everything on its head.
This is a great psychological thriller that will have you hooked.
Thanks to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

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Um....okay? Let me start off by saying that the first 90% of this book was great. It was fast-paced and enticing. I kept on reading so that I could find out what happens. And then once I reached the 90% mark and the big plot twist was revealed, I felt underwhelmed.

It fell completely flat for me after that. I had a, "Is this it?" moment. Once I reached the end and started thinking about the story using the complete knowledge of the reveal, the story, after the fact, just comes across as quite ridiculous and frankly nonsensical.

Needless to say, this was quite a disappointment for me.

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I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was just OK. A standard issue thriller - If you like that sort of thing you’ll like this but there’s nothing really to recommend it beyond just the conventions of the genre for its fans.

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I love these type of books and pride myself that 9 times out of 10 I can guess the twists and endings - not this time! Not even close.
Really enjoyed reading this - highly recommended.

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Having read previous books by Liv Constantine I should have been prepared for the mind blowing twist, but once again they got me. Wow! Really didn’t see it coming. The Wife Stalker is a quick, easy read that will have you thinking you know how it will end but you will be wrong. A fun weekend read.

Joanna and Leo have a great relationship, until Piper comes to town. She is attractive and wants Leo, and Piper always gets what she wants. Joanna is devastated and tries to find ways to get Leo back. She looks into Pipers past and finds a lot more than she bargained for.

It is crazy and I loved it.

Thanks to Harper Collins UK for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased

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This started off slow and then got more interesting but then I felt the ending was really clunky. Don't want to give anything away but it felt like a twist for twists sake and because of this there were parts I had to reread as it didn't make sense. Readable for the most part but just wish it was a slicker read.

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