Far from a light or easy read, this is a deeply uncomfortable story of misogyny, domestic abuse, loneliness and damaged minds. I found it incredibly difficult to read hating the manipulation and control of a vulnerable woman

Thank you to Net Galley and Liz Lawler for the advanced copy in return for my honest review of this book. Be sure to get a copy – out November 3, 2020!

Tess and Daniel met in the OR and had a whirlwind romance that ended them up married just months later. Daniel then surprises Tess by purchasing a mini mansion in the suburbs and uprooting their life from the city. Slowly, Daniel’s demeanor towards Tess begins to change and he becomes controlling, jealous, and overbearing.  Tess gets to a point where she is worried for her safety and realizes she needs to start making decisions about her future before it’s too late.

This was such a great read! I could not put this down and really enjoyed it from start to finish. I felt for Tess and was so frustrated by Daniel. I legitimately gasped out loud when I found out who was keeping an eye on Tess all along. Go out and get this book! You will not regret it!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.  This is my first book by Liz Lawler and it won't be the last.  The character development is incredible; my heart broke for Tess and I cursed Daniel throughout the book.  There are twists and turns.  Really enjoyed this!

Thank you so much Bookouture for an advanced reading copy as well as Netgalley. 
Daniel is a surgeon and quite a catch so Tess is happy when he proposes and they have a whirlwind romance and marriage. All that glitters is not gold and Tess soon discovers this to be true. Daniel has a dark side that goes back a generation. The book had a Hitchcockian feel and the chapters flew by. The whole story line was well thought out and had a satisfying ending. I would certainly read more from this author.

I really enjoyed this story. It was a little slow at the beginning but once I got into the story I couldn't put it down. I liked most of the characters, especially Martha and Jim. There were several twists that shocked me and had me tearing up. I loved the ending of the book. I highly recommend this book. 
Available on 11/3/20


I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley and Bookouture in return for my honest review. Thank you for the opportunity.

This was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read. I absolutely love this authors books and this one certainly did not disappoint. It was such a brilliant read and had me hooked from the very first page and couldn’t put it down once I had picked it up to read. It was a brilliant domestic psychological thriller with lots of twists and turns and a couple of parts where my mouth opened and made me gasp in shock. I won’t go onto that to much as don’t want to spoil for others. I was absolutely gripped with the storyline from the start and the story was well thought out and put together. This would make a good tv drama. Another great read from this fabulous and talented author. Highly recommend this book which comes out on the 3 November.

Thank you to Netgalley  and the publisher for this advanced copy!! 

Daniel and Tess are newly married.  Daniel a star surgeon and Tess a nurse.  They move from London to Bath and almost immediately something is just not right with the house or with her new husband! 

The first chapter is explosive, then it took me a while to get into the story. I wish I could have had a little bit of back story to when they first got together and formed a little bit of bond with at least one of them before all the dark started. 

Overall I enjoyed the book and I enjoyed hating Daniel. Solid 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

Based on other feedback/reviews, I'm going to be in the minority based on rating. I just couldn't get into the story. It could stem from the fact I have read similar books recently and just am oversaturated on the genre. The ending did have a nice little twist that I wasn't expecting. Regardless of my opinion, I would still encourage other readers to check this book out if they enjoy domestic thrillers.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Next Wife’ by Liz Lawler in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Tess is swept off her feet by handsome and highly respected surgeon Daniel Myers and they marry within months of meeting.  Tess meets her neighbour, an elderly lady called Martha King, who says she must ask her husband about his first wife and find out what happened to her.  When Daniel takes away her phone and bank card and chooses what she should wear Tess wonders whether she’s made a mistake getting married so quickly.  Is this going to be a case of marry in haste and repent at leisure?

‘The Next Wife’ is a gripping and well-written thriller with an intriguing plot and perfectly-described characters.  Tess is a theatre nurse and obviously intelligent so I wanted to shake her and shout at her to get out of that house before it’s too late.  Daniel is an opinionated, forceful, dominating and generally unpleasant man with psychopathic tendencies, so why didn’t Tess put her foot down and stand up for herself?  The story is chilling, the emotional and physical abuse described without being over-sensationalised, but I thought the ending strange, complicated and slightly rushed, although it took me by surprise as it was completely unexpected.  Nevertheless, this is an exciting book to read and one I can recommend.

This was an amazing thriller that kept me on my toes the whole time. The author’s depiction of the characters was spot on and the plot had me breathless! A great read!

The Next Wife by Liz Lawler
Publication date - 3rd November 2020.

Fantastic book from the get go! Really gripping, an interesting story, really enjoyed how the different timelines were shown and how they came together at the end.
I read this in two sittings, I had to put the book down at times due to being frustrated at how nasty one of the characters was (always a sign of a well written book).

Would highly recommend this book! 

Thank you to @netgalley and @bookouture for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A good and interesting read!

I would recommend this to everyone who loves a good story with captivating characters! Definitely a good read!

A good read with plenty of suspense and a few good twists. I felt though that it was similar to other books that I have read. 

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

When I started this book I thought it was going to be like all the others; woman falls in love with handsome, rich man... they get married he changes, she escapes, end of book, but I was wrong!  There were so many unexpected twists and turns that I was kept engaged and wondering what would happen next the whole time.  If you are ready to have your mind blown, I recommend picking up this book!

I always like to start by giving trigger warnings, if you are not comfortable with domestic abuse please be aware going into this book.
“You married him... but do you really know him”. 
The next wife by Liz Lawler, where do I start. Liz  (I hope it’s okay to refer to you as that) I will say this, your story was beyond brilliant. I couldn’t put it down! 

A psychological thriller that took me on a ride, I was so attached to our main character Tess, I had to know what happened! We follow a new married couple who left London and moved to Bath to start their marriage, a marriage that would change things forever. We watch as a marriage turn into a domestic abuse case, and then turn into even more. 

I honestly thought I was figuring out stuff, but was in for a lot of other pieces. 

An amazing story, I highly suggest this book! Thank Liz Lawler, Bookouture, and Netgalley for this read. 

A five out of five, I can’t wait to see what other stories we might see from this amazing author. Look for this story on November 3rd. Definitely a must read!

Whilst this is a well written novel that I did enjoy on the whole, it was somewhat predicatable, using typical tropes that many psychological thrillers employ at the moment.  That said, it has lots going for it, and I read it fairly quickly.  I also like the front cover.

Loved this one. When Tess falls in love with a handsome doctor and quickly marries him, she believes she is destined for a life of happiness but that doesn't last long. What changed her husband into the monster he has become. She needs to find a way to survive her marriage, save her career and escape her controlling husband. She knows she has to stay just long enough to find the proof she needs but when she does it raises more questions than the answers it gives. Who was the woman that lived in the house before her and is that who her husband is trying to cling onto? Great plot, lots of twists and really well written. One of those books that I didn't want to end. Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to preview this great book

There are many books out there about the innocent wife fearing for her life and the perfect husband, who turns out to be a manipulative jerk. This book had a few good twists but it was predictable as hell for me. SMH. Loved the cover. Just an ok read for me.

Thanks to Netgalley, Liz Lawler and Bookouture for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 11/3/20

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

This is the first book that I’ve read by this author but it won’t be the last. Normally good thriller books for me are ones that throw out loads of twists I didn’t see coming, this one doesn’t have that necessarily but it does have a story that completely draws you into the characters world. My heart was absolutely breaking for Tess and even the side characters were compelling for me. I finished this within a day, couldn’t put it down!

Eurrrghhhh 
Daniel, he is vile
A psychopath, cruel, nasty, evil and makes his wife of a few weeks, Tess’s life unbearable
Of course though, to everyone looking in Daniel is wonderful, a surgeon no less, respected, adored from afar and loved, he fools many and all 
As Tess’s abuse sexual, physical and mental gets worse she feels more and more alone...but someone has noticed and as she tries to take her own life she realises someone is on her side
I wont beat about the bush Daniel is a monster and the things he does to Tess are appalling, I hated him and have to say for quite a lot of the time was dumbfounded as to why she didn’t just pack her bags and get herself as far away as possible from him as soon as she could, but then it’s a book and if she had it would have been ‘the end’ so I had to get over that, but really he is the devil in disguise
As the book progresses you find out why and the book takes a totally different turn to how you were led to think, its a good ‘change of story’ and it does make more sense, more than that I wont say
Superbly horrendous and believable characterisations and a hospital and Dr/Nurse setting ( with lots of info given on operations, theatres and the like ) made this anything but the run of the mill psychological thriller that I thought it would be when picked it
The ending maybe pushes the boundaries of believability but all told a great read

8/10
4.5 Stars