Cover Image: The Next Wife

The Next Wife

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Member Reviews

A really good and well written psychological thriller, with a well developed storyline, that keeps you interested until the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this book. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own.

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The next wife was a dark psychological thriller that kept me engaged right from the start. I was captivated by this story and couldn’t pit it down. I enjoyed it.

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TRIGGER WARNING: this book deals with domestic and sexual violence
After a whirlwind romance, Tess and Daniel Myers marry and relocate to Bath. But Tess is beginning to have doubts and Daniel's behaviour concerns her. Meanwhile, elderly Martha is haunted by the past and convinced that Daniel hides a dark secret...
The prologue of The Next Wife instantly draws the reader in as we see a man attacking a woman and child. Next we see Martha, confused but determined to expose the truth although it is not clear what that is. Then we see the deterioration of the relationship between Tess and Daniel as the facade of perfection disintegrates.
Tess is a very likeable yet vulnerable character as is Martha. Tess begins the book excited for her future but is soon regretting her marriage. There is a huge sadness attached to the older character as we see Martha's mental deterioration in tandem with her determination to reveal Daniel's identity to the world.
The Next Wife is an intense psychological thriller. Daniel systematically and insidiously takes over all aspects of Tess' life and removes her freedoms, from her choice of clothes to her career. I wanted to shout at her to run away from him!
As a fan of medical thrillers, I enjoyed the added dynamic of the doctor and nurse couple and the effect this has on the plot development. The power play occurs in their personal and professional lives with devastating consequences.
I really enjoyed The Next Wife and look forward to reading more from author Liz Lawler in the future.

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A captivating dark domestic thriller! Daniel is a surgeon. Tess is a nurse at the hospital in London where they met. He is everything she has dreamed of. But shortly after marrying, things start to change after they move to Bath into an old mansion. He doesn’t want her to work, he monitors her every move and takes away her phone and bank card. It starts out subtle when he wants her to wear specific clothes for dinner but progresses to physical and mental abuse. She wants out but has to find the perfect opportunity!

My thoughts: Daniel the is vile and cunning so be warned. Tess is naive and thinks she can change him. But it works and this book kept me in on the edge of my seat. Great twists throughout and the end was shocking.

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A cracking psychological thriller centring around a domestic abuse. A thoroughly good read .

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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The Next Wife is immediately sinister and foreboding as you turn the very first pages. A house, a couple and an elderly lady, all whom have sinficifant past traumas which shape their state of minds, actions and behaviours. I couldn't speed through this story, I paused for breath at intervals, with genuine concern and trepidation for the wife whom endured so much. This novel depicts the struggles with an abusive relationship and the varying ways one can be victimised, not easy reading. I found it difficult to understand the victims actions and feelings always; as sadly I'm sure the case will be that you would only truly understand the main character had you experienced such a difficult situation. The writing was well structured and the medical detail was fabulous, not as though providing lots of info to fill up pages but genuinely adding to how events unfold. I wasnt left with any surprises, most of what I surmised indeed played out but nonetheless was a great book and one which was truly chilling at times; and that is exactly what I seek when I see a book categorised as a thriller. It turns out I already have purchased a copy of Don't Wake Up, so I shall look forward to delving deeper into Liz Lawler's work in the future.
With thanks to Liz Lawler, Bookouture and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

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The Next Wife is a fast paced physiological thriller. I read this book in a day as I couldn't put it down ! Twists and turns to keep you hooked.. a great read!

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I LOVED this book.

Proper edge of the seat stuff. I literally stayed up all night to get to the end.

Fabulous premise and a joy to read.

Highly recommended, 5 stars from me

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A young woman is smitten, in love with her new husband, and he decides they are going to move to another location and start a new life together. She excitedly plans for her future and takes a job position being a surgeon's assistant. She has never worked alongside her husband before and soon discovers that only knowing someone for two whole months before becoming his Mrs. is not always the best idea.
This book had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Her loving husband all the sudden becomes both physically and mentally abusive, even going as far as to tell her what to wear and buys her granny clothes. The reader cringes every time he comes home. Is he Dr. Jackyl or Mr. Hyde? As she delves further into the mystery of what makes her husband act the way he does, the more she becomes in danger.
I loved every page to the very end. The author did a great job of keeping the suspense flowing through the entire book and I welcomed the surprise as she figured out who the old lady is who has been watching her home and the friendly man she meets at the train station when she goes back to England to clear out her husband's old house. You can't help but feel sorry for the wife and wonder how in the world she is going to get out. This book does not disappoint one bit! Thank you for another fun read NetGalley. I really enjoyed this book!

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The Next Wife is the third book I’ve read by liz Lawler and doesn’t disappoint.
Tess is a nurse and has been swept off her feet by the dashingly handsome Daniel, he’s perfect and everyone loves him as he’s a fantastic surgeon. In a very short space of time Tess is married and is moving out of London to a house Daniel has bought. Tess sets up home but finds she doesn’t seem to do anything right and Daniel is losing his patience. Within weeks Tess is a nervous wreck as Daniel abuses her mentally, sexually and physically. He takes away her phone and her money leaving her totally dependant on him until a stranger sees her contemplating suicide and from afar tries to help. Tess starts to unravel Daniels history and finds out why he is the way he is.
Loved this psychological thriller, I did want her to just up and leave but if she did there would have been no story!
I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

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This was a great psychological thriller which kept me glued.
Tess has married Daniel, the man of her dreams, but after the honeymoon things begin to change. There’s the sudden move to a massive house in Bath and the old lady that warns Tess not to trust her husband? Daniel becomes more and more controlling and completely isolates Tess. Tess has nowhere to turn.
I loved the characters even Daniel who was truly sinister.
Well worth reading!
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#NetGalley

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This was a new author to me and I enjoyed her style of writing.

I thought this had a gripping storyline that kept me reading and eager to know the ending.

A well written thriller that I would recommend.

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A tense, twisty story that kept me on the edge of my seat. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read an advance copy.

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An even more twisted version of the Daphne du Maurier classic Rebecca, Liz Lawler’s The Next Wife is domestic noir at its darkest and most disturbing.

Tess never believed that all of her romantic fantasies could come true. But when fate pushes her into the path of charming, successful and devastatingly handsome older man Daniel and the two fall head over heels in love, it looks like all her dreams have finally come to fruition. When their whirlwind romance leads to a proposal, Tess is overjoyed and as she settles down to married life with her Prince Charming, she is full of plans for the future which she is sure will be rosy and full of joy and happiness with the man who has made her so happy. However, Tess’s fairy tale is about to hit a major stumbling block as she finds herself plagued by doubts and insecurities.

With Daniel being so much more sophisticated than her, Tess begins to feel out of her depth. She cannot seem to get anything right and her new husband seems to be losing patience with her. As the chasm between the two of them grows with every passing day, Tess begins to see a completely different side to the perfect man she thought she was going to be spending the rest of her life with. Tess initially dismisses the darkness that seems to have taken over her charming husband. He is probably stressed at work or a bit fed up that she cannot seem to get anything right. Surely, he will be back to his old self in no time…or will he? Does Tess know the man she married? Will her Prince Charming turn out to be a villain with a dark heart and even darker secrets?

Tess begins to feel more and more isolated from her family and friends. As Daniel takes away her phone and her bank card, she is completely and utterly dependent on her husband. Tess is absolutely petrified and her fear intensifies when a stranger knocks at their door and tells her not to trust Daniel and to ask him what really happened to his first wife.

Trapped, frightened and vulnerable, Tess’s gilded cage continues to get even more claustrophobic. Is her husband truly a monster? What really happened to his wife? Will she ever escape this nightmare she is trapped in? Or is it already far too late?

Twisty, chilling and shocking, Liz Lawler’s The Next Wife is spine-tingling suspense that will keep readers on the edge of their seats throughout. A tense and terrifying tale of dangerous attraction, devastating betrayals and earth-shattering secrets, The Next Wife drips with menace and foreboding and is a nail-biting read full of jaw-dropping revelations nobody will see coming.

Liz Lawler’s The Next Wife is a heart-stopping exploration of what really goes on behind closed doors that readers will struggle to put down.

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The Next Wife by Liz Lawler was a good psychological thriller and one which kept my interest throughout. Tess is a surgical nurse and meets Daniel a vascular surgeon in the hospital in London where they both work . After a whirlwind romance they marry and move out of London where Daniel gets a job at another hospital. After a few chapters we learn that Daniel is not all he seems and begins to control Tess in a nasty way. There were times when I wanted to shout at the book and tell Tess to get out of this relationship and couldn’t understand why she was staying, There is however someone watching out for Tess and things become clearer towards the end . My only dislike was that I felt that the ending was a big far fetched but in no way took away from my enjoyment of the book

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Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. A thrilling read with lots of twists to keep you guessing. Newly weds Tess and Daniel seems to have the perfect life. Him a successful surgeon and her a highly skilled nurse, they move to a lovely new house to start married life. It all seems to good to be true and it is. Daniel sons starts to behave a very different way to the man Tess fell in love with. Gone is the romantic, caring and loveable man and in comes the controlling, violent thug that frankly would have us all running for the hills. When one of their older neighbours is convinced Daniel is guilty of even more than this, Tess becomes even more worried. What has she got herself in to and more importantly how does she get herself out ..alive.

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Tess is a new bride in bliss w/her new doctor husband.  Everything is amazing until it isn't.  Her new husband starts changing & becoming a hideous monster & she can't figure out why or what she has done to cause it.  One day an elderly woman knocks at her door telling her to ask her husband what happened to his first wife. After that day Tess's world is changed forever.

I wasn't sure about this book at first because it seemed to me that the story started hasty like maybe some of the beginning had been left out. After the first few chapters though it pulled me in & I was hooked. Reading to see how Tessa will survive this monster she unknowingly married. The revelations towards the last chapters were mind blowing & will shock even the esteemed thriller reader. Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for my early review copy. I highly recommend you grab this one & sit down for a few hrs of excessive uninterrupted reading!!!!!!

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Fast paced twisty book. Some issues as far as sexual abuse. Tess believes she married the perfect man. She thought their marriage would be perfect. After a few months she realizes she was very wrong. Daniel is controlling. Tess feels she cannot do anything right and Daniel scares her. One day a complete stranger comes to her door and tells her she needs to ask Daniel what happened to his first wife.
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the advance ecopy.

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This was a very slow burn psych thriller. The ominous feeling was set from the beginning. The prologue actually brought to mind “The Shining,” that kind of cat and mouse search that you just know will end badly.
Now extrapolate that through the whole book.
It’s a testament to the writing that I sometimes felt afraid to turn the pages because I didn’t want to see what was going to happen next – while at the same time not being able to stop because…well, I wanted to see what happened next.
The mood and setting were definitely gothic. A mysterious mansion, secrets, bouts of madness…all quite atmospheric. It allowed me to be sucked into the world of the characters. The author did a great job creating that.
I thought Martha was an interesting character. She obviously knew something, but her dementia made her unreliable. The other characters (and the reader) never knew exactly what she was talking about. That was by design, and it was effective.
I obviously felt for Tess. She let herself get swept up in a romance that was totally a sham. As things took a darker turn, I kept rooting for her to get the nerve to do what had to be done.
While the domestic situation was awful, there were more pressures for her too. I shared Tess’ feeling of being suffocated from everything closing in on her.
Why is Martha watching the house? Who is sending Tess mysterious notes? Do Daniel’s “friends” have ulterior motives?
I loved the fact that everything didn’t really reveal until the very end of the book. By the time Tess begins to unravel the truth, it literally felt like a pressure cooker ready to explode. And boy does it ever. The surprises in the last quarter of the book keep coming, right up until the very last pages.
This was like a roller coaster that takes a long time to get to the top before setting off on a wild ride of unexpected twists and loops. It will keep you turning pages with dread and anticipation right to the end.

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Thanks to NetGalley for an advance review copy of The Next Wife by Liz Lawler.

This books prologue catches your attention from the get go with a shocking and dark prologue.

Newlywed Tess and her Doctor husband Daniel move into a huge mansion and for a while everything seems perfect... that is until Daniel starts coercively controlling Tess's every move - hiding her bank cards, instructing her on what she should wear and punishing her when she makes a mistake. It starts with verbal attacks and then things get progressively worse, until Tess feels like she is walking on egg shells, starting to fear the man she loves the most.

When the old lady who lives opposite knocks on her door and tells her she's in danger, Tess isn't sure if she's loopy or if she's on to something. She then tells her to ask her husband about his last wife; raising the question about whether Daniel has been in this house before. Is that why he's been acting strange? Was he married before and if so, did they live in this house together. Where is his wife now and what happened??

This book isn't an easy read, and describes some at times quite harrowing and abusive domestic violence which at times I found difficult to read without wincing. That said, you really find yourself getting in to the mind of Tess and appreciating her thought process; as dark and as difficult as it may be.

It's hard to describe this book too much without spoilers, accept to say that as time goes on, Tess learns more about her husband and that he is not the man she thought he was. Soon there is someone else who knows her secret; seeing behind the facade of a happy marriage and sending anonymous notes to Tess.

Is the lady over the road right? Did Daniel kill his last wife and is he now trying to recreate her in Tess? Will she stay or will she manage to escape?

I enjoyed this book and felt the ending was a great conclusion to a complex and dark relationship between the two main characters. My only real criticism of this book was that some of the medical jargon used was too much (I don't feel it needed to go to that level of detail) and that at times it made unpleasant reading due to just how real and vivid the descriptions of the domestic abuse were in parts. It's not an easy read, but is a page turner none the less!

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