This is an engaging psychological thriller that kept me guessing till the end. Set in an idyllic, seaside backdrop in Dorset, the story is a slow burn.

The plot revolves around the lives of widower, Dr. Stephen Mckenzie and his daughter Maya who has put aside her ambitions of becoming a doctor, to take care of her father. Their routine, seemingly perfect life begins to develop cracks when Stephen introduces his new girlfriend, Amy, who bears an eerie resemblance to Maya's own mother who passed away twelve years ago. Soon memories begin to surface that has Maya questioning everything she knew about her life thus far.

The story is narrated in alternative POVs of Maya and Stephen's colleague Teresa (which was a little confusing for me, as in, why have Teresa's POV at all?). Despite the slow pace, the author has spun plenty of twists throughout the story to keep one's curiosity piqued; just when you think you have it all figured out, yet another twist smacks you in the face.

Though I did think there were some inconsistencies in the age/timeline of one of the characters, overall this was an enjoyable read.

A big thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley who approved my request for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was just bizarre. Like I genuinely haven’t got a clue what I have just read because it seemed so weird. I don’t know how to properly review it either because I’m not even sure if I liked it.

Okay, so what I can say is that the writing was pretty decent and wasn’t bogged down by flowery language. I thought the pacing was decent but the plot. The plot, I don’t even know where to start. I went into this book thinking it was one thing and by about 30% in I was convinced that another was happening and basically none of it made sense. The author tried to clarify it at the end but it just didn’t sit well with me. It seemed too convenient.

The characters. Okay so I despised Maya. I have never read someone who is so selfish and self absorbed and only concerned with their own happiness as this character. She treated her dad like crap and was awful to everyone.
I thought everyone else was just dull and unmemorable.

I just found myself feeling unsatisfied with this book and the direction it went and feel like there was so much wasted potential.

<i>I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Gasp.. yes this book made me gasp outloud!!!!
What a great ride. Pulls you in like nothing else. One of the best books that I have read this year. It's over but I dont want it to be. So suspenseful, fantastic read everything about it is great.
More than 5 stars if i could. Put this on your reading list you wont he disappointed.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

I couldn’t put this book down. It was well written and the author did a great job with the twists and turns. I liked that the characters felt real to me and they all had issues that are common in the real world. This was a great, fast paced thriller!

This story swirls around Stephen, a psychologist and the women in his life. There is Maya, his adult daughter, living at home who feels she needs to protect him from his dark moods and rumors of her mothers suicide off the cliffs by the remote Dorset coastline. There is Theresa, Stephens partner in his practice, who has known and somewhat secretly has loved him since their college days. There is Amy, a women Stephen meets and their romance brings Amy into the house and seems to threaten the status quo. There is Cheryl, Maya’s mother and now we all wonder whether it was suicide or murder. Memories tie everything and everyone together, memories that can be manipulated, real or planted. Maya, the daughter, Theresa, the fellow therapist, and Amy, the new girlfriend, try to decipher the truth about Stephen who is seemingly so different in each of their memories which influenced there perceptions of him. A slightly underwhelming ending after a tense, unpredictable story. Perhaps that was the point, memories were the story.

I really enjoyed reading this thriller. The author has created well developed, believable characters along with a fast paced plot. I enjoyed the twists and turns.

I would like to thank Wendy Clarke, Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Two therapists, who work together, have different - yet important - unusual personal lives.

Teresa's mother has progressive dementia. . Her mom lives 50 miles away and lives alone. Teresa never knows what to expect when she visits her. Aside from this, Teresa is unhappy in her marriage and with her son.

Stephen's wife died 12 years ago and he still holds on to memories - this, by living with his 19 year old daughter, Maya. Yet, Maya finds living with her dad special and takes a job she doesn't really like and cares for her dad. Maya's world falls apart when her dad announces that he is getting married. This is an awful blow to Maya.

A very good read with twists you do not see coming. Good characterization and reliable narration
And - secrets abound.

Many Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for an excellent read!

I'm an avid thriller reader, so I'm used to unlikeable characters and go into these types of books expecting my perspective to have changed by the end. Unfortunately, that was not the case with this one.

Like other reviewers have noted, three of the female characters' agencies seem almost solely tied to the same male character. I was hopeful that this was intentional as a way to bait and switch readers, but that wasn't how the story played out. The ending was underwhelming, especially given these hurdles at the start, and I was left feeling really disappointed.

I was fortunate enough to be selected through Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. First and foremost I’ll start off by saying Psychological Thrillers are not normally my genre of choice. I have read several Psychological Thrillers that I really did enjoy and after reading the synopsis on this one, I thought I’d give it a shot.

In “His Hidden Wife” we read through the points of views of two of our main characters, Maya and Theresa. Both of whom paint a very different picture of our third main character, Stephen. Maya is Stephen’s adult daughter and Theresa a fellow Psychologist who works in his clinic. Stephen, having lost his wife to an apparent suicide when Maya was a mere 6 years old, raised Maya on his own in the family’s cliffside “Crewl” house.

From the 2 POVs, we see two completely different perspectives of Stephen’s character. Both of our leads (Maya and Theresa) seem to be obsessed with Stephen (and yes even his daughter, it was a little odd). From Mayas POV he has anger issues and triggers that set him off, triggers which Maya feels she has to protect him from by constantly doing things for him (bringing him tea, making him dinner, not raising her voice to him).

And then there’s Theresa’s point of view. She’s incredibly unhappy in her marriage and places Stephen on an unrealistic pedestal. In Theresa’s mind, he is kind, attentive and patient. Then Stephen brings home Amy, a woman who looks and behaves oddly similar to Maya’s mother, and things start to get weird. I don't want to give anything away so I wont say anymore than that, except that Maya’s reaction to her dad (who has been single for well over a decade) bringing home a woman, was a bit too juvenile for my tastes, especially since Maya is a grown woman!

All in all I think I’d give this book a 3 ⭐️ rating. It wasn’t one that I thoroughly enjoyed or one that I would likely read again, but the plot was interesting enough for me to keep turning pages :).

WOW. The number of twists in this outnumber the ones in a craziest roller coaster. Clarke’s talent is evident in crafting the story with beautiful well-developed characters, who aren’t at all what they appear at the beginning. Usually, readers' suspicions pinned on one or two characters but in this, from the half through the book, my suspicions change at the speed of light, from one character to another, making me look like a fickle minded one.

At one point, I’ve gone cray-cray by suspecting every character, and building up my own theories about each of them, only refuted by Clarke with her brilliantly plotted twists. I couldn’t have guessed them even when my life depended on them.

This story introduces Maya, nineteen-year-old living at a house situated on the cliff top next to sea in Dorset. She couldn’t go to university as she has to take care of her father Stephen, works as an anxiety counsellor. Maya’s mother died by falling from the bluff when she was six years old and Maya was found curling up on the cliff. The death was ruled as accidental. But rumor has it that it might be suicide or someone is behind it. Clarke introduces a set of characters.

From the outset, it was revealed Maya and Stephen are hiding some secrets and Maya frets about the secrets might spill when her father introduces a new woman.

The plotting of the story is truly incredible. Clarke slowly builds tension, tantalizes readers by giving few tidbits only. I was itching to reach the last page so quickly, cursing myself for not able to read fast enough.

The atmospheric location of sea, cliff house, choppy waters added an eerie feeling and spine chilling. The story is an examination of great lengths one would go to protect the loved ones and to take revenge. Loved the great bonding between the parent and child, and child taking care of parents when their roles were reversed.

It warmed my heart reading about wonderful characters and their stories. I wanted to leap into the pages to give a hug to Maya, she is such a brilliant character. It distressed me when she was going through difficulties, decided to forgo her dreams.

Overall, HIGHLY recommend this engrossing, riveting, and unputdownable psychological thriller. Clear your day, before you start this.

Many thanks to the Bookouture and Netgalley for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Enjoyed this domestic thriller. The characters were likable and believable until another twist slams down on the page!
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

His Hidden Wife by Wendy Clarke is an adrenaline fuelled ride, full of twists and turns that will have you questioning everything you think you know. Ms Clarke, you have delivered the goods yet again.

Maya lost her mother when she was only six years old. Her memories are hazy, but she continues to be haunted by her mother's fall from a cliff, and by her father's efforts to shield her from a truth that has always remained just out of reach. In the intervening years, Maya has devoted her life to protecting her father from his demons, but all of that will change with the arrival of Amy, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to Maya's departed mother. Is it this uncanny similarity that causes the father to bring her into their fiercely guarded bubble of two? And just where does Theresa, a woman with an abusive husband, a problematic son, and a mother with dementia fit into the scheme of things? If you think you have it all figured out, you'd best keep reading. 4.5 stars

I have previously loved the novels of Wendy Clarke, and this latest proved to be no exception. Clear your schedule because you will not want to put this one down.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

Do you remember anything about your childhood? Are they your memories or facts someone has told you that you’ve turned into ‘memories’? Wendy Clarke, in her new psychological thriller, ‘His Hidden Wife,’ examines the lengths we’ll go to protect the ones we love – even if it means helping them with their memories. Due to be published February 4, 2021, this is a book to put on your must-have list!

Mya McKenzie was only 6 years old when she witnessed her mom plunge to her death on the cliffs by their home. She has struggled for most of her childhood and teenage years trying to remember what her mom looked like and why she was driven to end her life so tragically. The loss of her mother has created a strong bond between Mya and her dad. In fact, she postpones med school to stay and look after her dad another year. You can imagine Mya’s shock when he arrives home with his new girlfriend, Amy, one night and she looks and sounds eerily like Cheryl, Mya’s mom. It’s only when Mya finally resolves to accept Amy that disaster happens. The past can’t stay buried forever and Amy is going to make sure of that!

What an absolutely amazing read! As is true of all exceptional psychological thrillers, the emphasis is on the plot rather than the characters. Although this is true, Clarke has crafted realistic and dynamic characters who fully support the outstanding plot and end up tangled in the web of deceit. Set in the Dorset Jurassic Coast with enveloping mist, churning waters, biting wind, and a secluded home set on a hill, the thriller has a unique story dealing with reality, secrets, perception, death and identity. I love how the author has created atmosphere and a sense of foreboding when she aptly named the site of the accident as Crewl Point and the McKenzie house as Crewl House. You’ll have to read to find out what I mean! The star of the show is the plot. Without giving too much away, the first thing you’ll notice is the layered conflicts and how they escalate. Next, the plot becomes complicated with twists and turns and has everyone questioning reality. Finally, you’ll be racing to the last page to discover who the villain is and the revealing of his/her calculated last move. In addition to this five-star read being a little intense with a high level of anticipation, it’s also full of uncertainty, anxiety and rounded out with nerve-wracking tension. It’s expertly crafted and left me eagerly wanting to read more of Clarke’s work.

Thank you to Wendy Clarke, Bookouture, and NetGalley for this five-star advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Flew through this book. Maya was 6 when she lost her mum. She died falling over a cliff.
Since then it’s just been her and a dad. She even gave up a chance of uni to stay home and look after him. Then one day he announces her has a girlfriend. Amy seems perfect. She’s also a replica of her mum. Maya initially finds it hard to adapt to a new woman in her dad’s life.
But are things as they seem. Is Stephen really the good upstanding dad. Is Amy the perfect girlfriend and what secrets have been kept over the years.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC

Thank you to Net Galley and Bookouture for the advance reading copy of # HisHiddenWife.

This book is highly addictive, fast pace read indeed! The characters are very likable and relatable. I read this book in one day, I was very curious as to how it would end. At first I thought one of the main characters was a narcissist, but in the end something very shocking was revealed! Do not hesitate when it comes to reading this book!


#hishiddenwife #netgalley

This is an excellent psychological thriller. I was so impressed by its fast pace but original plot. The characters were relatable. I felt like I knew them. I highly recommend this book.

#HisHiddenWife #NetGalley
A rollercoaster of twists.
Maya has never forgotten: that her mother was beautiful and kind, and she loved Maya very much. It’s what her father Stephen always tells her, about his perfect wife.
Years later, Maya still lives with her father in their cliffside home. Thankful for all the sacrifices he has made for her, she never pushes to find out what happened the night he lost the woman he loved. Even when she hears the whispers in town about him, and what they say he’s done.
Wendy Clarke's plot is very tight. I loved her characters.
I'm doing more promotion on its release date among my fellow Authors Bloggers Friends Family and Followers.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me an advance copy of this outstanding psychological thriller.