Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tom, Beth's husband of 7 years and father of her daughter Poppy is arrest abruptly one night for the murder of his ex girlfriend 8 years ago. After Tom's arrest, Beth is worried about how she will be perceived in the community, since she is the owner of a bakery/coffee shop.

This book was very slow for me. For at least the first 50%, it was Beth worrying about how she was being viewed by others in the town, rather than the more logical concern about potentially being married to a murderer. I had a hard time picking this one back up when I put it down. I will say that it picked up toward the end and there was a pretty significant twist, but it took too long to get there and I wasn't that interested by the time it was revealed.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book. I am so grateful for the opportunity.

I used to read this genre all of the time, until I became bored of everything being the same and stopped for quite a while.I very rarely pick up books like this nowadays however something screamed at me when I saw this one and just couldn't help myself.

I am very pleased that I picked it up. I actually really enjoyed it! Yes it was predictable at times, yes I kind of knew where the story was going but actually it was a fun read. I really like crime/thriller books written in the perspective of we already know the killer and actually what we are doing is finding out how and why they have committed the crimes that they have. This is exactly what The Serial Killer's Wife did and it worked!

The writing style is really engaging and I literally could not put the book down. The Serial Killer's Wife is definitely one of those books where you just want to read one more chapter and then something else is revealed and you need to carry on. Be prepared for a late night when you pick it up!

I was taken by surprise at the ending. Whilst I knew something along those lines were going to happen, I didn't expect it to be in the way that it was. I wont go into anymore details because spoilers. But it was surprising, it made sense but it made me want a little bit more detail about certain characters that I feel we could have had throughout the story. I feel like it was left in a position where we could be getting a sequel which I would welcome and I would definitely pick it up. Fingers crossed!

I'd definitely recommend.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for opportunity to read and honestly review this book.

This book is definitely a quick read and I loved the general synopsis however I’m not sure it delivered. It was mostly predictable and the big twist the reader could see coming a mile away. I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters and some of the story became repetitive and didn’t help the overall story move forward, almost felt like filler here and there, yet some parts felt rushed or just would skip forward randomly in middle of a scene. The book as a whole was well written and I’d definitely try another from this same author.

Thank you to publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed this fast paced quick read. Had me guessing from beginning to end!

Pub Date: 5/2021

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.8 stars

Beth and Tom move from London to a small village with their toddler Poppy. Tom is accused of murder. Told from both Beth and Tom’s POV and back and forth in time, we learn more about them and their relationships.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the ARC copy of The Serial Killer’s Wife by Alice Hunter.

This was a fun and quick read. I wasn’t sure who to trust through the whole story. Beth and Tom are the perfect couple admired from all afar until Tom gets accused of murdering his ex girlfriend. The gossiping ladies in town start to suspect that Beth know more than she lets on. Beth is an unreliable narrator who you want to believe in but there is something there to make you question get intentions.

Yes!!. This book was exciting from beginning to end. Great story, well developed and interesting characters. The best part of the book were the twists and turn that this book took me through and the end... was so good. Highly recommend this book.

I requested this book from NetGalley and received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.
And I will be brutally honest. This book was terrible. I don’t know why it is getting high ratings. Twists do not make a good story. Well-written characters and a believable plot do. This book has neither. The characters are all extremely, extremely unlikable and while that in itself is not reason to pan a book, ridiculous actions that make zero sense when looking at the big picture do. Their actions aren’t just stupid but generally deplorable. The story goes at a plodding pace and nothing much happens after the first chapter other than Beth constantly, and I mean, constantly talking about her daughter Poppy and how awful her life will be if she doesn’t do the right thing. It’s Poppy this and Poppy that and oh poor poor me!! Unfortunately, at no time did she ever do the right thing. I almost felt sorry forthe serial killer husband, Tom, for having married such an imbecile. He is also not written as a serial killer should be. He seems too nice and almost as though he was sorry for his acts. I cannot say too much more without spoiling the story. There isn’t much going on in the story other than deception and idiocy. When I read books like this I wonder why I haven’t written one? I could certainly do better than this. This one did not deserve to be published.

Beth is a mother that likes her quiet life. She lives for her banker husband, her pottery painting business, her cottage, and most importantly - her daughter, Poppy. She finds herself annoyed one evening while tucking in her daughter - her prompt husband is late. She hears the door and runs down only to find...two detectives. They whisk her husband away to help them with "some questions", and by the next day, Tom is held for murder. The town gossip is ablaze; could Beth be so ignorant as to not know what her husband is accused of doing? How deep do his transgressions go? How will Beth cope? Does she really know as little as she says; is their marriage really the sweet and simple relationship that she says it is?

The Serial Killer's Wife is an interesting take on a psychological thriller; one that I don't think I've encountered before. This is a quick, entertaining, and light popcorn read - perfect for a rainy day or vacation read! There is a surprise twist ending that did bring a little shiver of excitement and question of "what comes next"?! I would definitely read anything else that Alice Hunter publishes in the future, as I found this to be an engaging and enjoyable read. Would recommend!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my ARC.

I normally love, love, love stories like this. But this one just didn't do it for me. It was slower than my liking and most of the details were left until the final chapter. This works for many people, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. I found myself a little bored.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon for giving me a chance to review this book! This review is based on my honest opinion.

The title itself sounds...fascinating. The Serial Killer's Wife and it seems to have a ring in it. And the plot also sounds interesting. Beth and Tom Hardcastle seemed to be living a happy life with their daughter Poppy until the police come and knock on their door one day and takes Tom for questioning. And it was questioning about the disappearance/murder of a woman named Katie, who was Tom's ex girlfriend, eight years ago.

The story is told from Beth's Tom's and Katie's point of view so it is interesting to see what really goes in their head. Though the book is fast paced, chilling and as a reader you question if Tom is really innocent or not, this book did not have much twists and turns but nonetheless the reader (that's me) became engrossed into the story--the writer did a good job drawing the reader to the story! The emotions and feelings that Beth faced when her husband was arrested for the murder seemed realistic but at the same time you question if those feelings Beth had towards Tom was realistic or if she was hiding something. The ending of the story was a bit unexpected.

Overall, this was really good! I couldn't really put the book down and so I enjoyed reading this thriller and definitely read in one go! Worth five stars in my opinion.

I was excited for this book, because the blurs sounded super exciting. Unfortunately, imo, this book missed the mark. It might be because I'm a thriller roll rn which makes me more sensitive about books shortcommings.
The idea of the plot was very interesting, but Beth as a protagonist wasn't very compelling and I wasn't very much invested in the story.
The plot dragged on and on at times, which really made it hard to read and focus on. There are pages and pages filled with insignificant ramble which might have been cut out.
The final twist wasn't particulary shocking, as I predicted it somewhere around the middle of the book.

I will for sure give the Author another chance as I see great potential there, but unfortunately this particular book wasn't for me.

I very much enjoyed this story of a woman married to a suspected serial killer. How can one be married to such a man and not notice a thing? What are the dark truths we choose to hide from ourselves? Highly recommended!

The Serial Killer's Wife is an entertaining thriller about a woman who discovers, or thinks she discovers, that her husband has killed two women in the past. She needs to figure out how to extricate herself and her daughter from this situation in a way that will be least damaging to the two of them. It's difficult to talk about this novel without spoilers, but the second half of The Serial Killer's Wife has great twists and the ending packs a wallop. It's not often that a final twist surprises me as much as this one did!

Beth and Tom are happily married. But when Tom is arrested for murder and his deep dark secrets come to light, Beth is left wondering just how well does she really know her husband? As more questions are asked about him, it seems she’s about to find out!

A good suspenseful book with a nice twist at the end.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Tom and Beth have been married for several years and have a daughter. The cops come to question Tom about his previous girlfriend who has ben missing for a while. This book kept me guessing.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the chance to review this ARC!
Beth's life starts to go downhill when her husband is late coming home from work. Police show up at the door looking for him wanting to 'just ask questions.' They're then convinced that he's responsible for a murder that took place 8 years ago. Everyone is shocked and is asking Beth 'shouldn't you have known?'
Beth is stunned as well, but does she know more than she's letting on?
Now, this story follows the beats of your basic thriller. Wife horrified that her husband is supposedly a killer, tries to help the police, and the community both tries to comfort her and gossip about the situation.
I would have rated it lower, but the ending did have me surprised and it made me look over the story as a whole.
I just didn't like Beth overall as a character, she seemed kind of whiny and then (based on the ending) she was just hypocritical. The plot was also very predictable, besides the ending. I did enjoy some of the supporting characters though, like Julia, DC Cooper, and Poppy of course.
Overall, it wasn't terrible, it was just an average thriller.

I received this book from Net Galley as an ARC and I am so happy to have been given the chance to read this. It was a fast paced and a page turner. Can't wait to read more by this author!

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for a copy of "The Serial Killer's Wife" in exchange for my honest review.

This was definitely one of the best books of the year so far. I just wanted to keep turning pages to see what happens and I was not expecting the ending that I was faced with.

Beth Hardcastle, husband Tom and daughter Poppy live in Lower Tew in Banbury. The story is told in Beth's perspective "Now", Tom's perspective "Now", Katie and Tom's perspective "8 Years Ago", conversations between a man and a woman - they are not identified and it's up to the reader to figure out that mystery, Beth's perspective "4 months Later" and Beth "15 months ago".

Beth is worried about Tom being late by 2 hours coming home from his job in London. When he does get home there is no time to talk to him as DI Manning and DS Walters arrive to speak to Thomas Hardcastle about assisting them with a murder enquiry. He is taken the Banbury Police Station - Beth has a million questions when Tom is returned home who? what? where? why?

Tom has always insisted that Beth not have any friends, that they only need each other and no one else matters.

When Tom is taken to the police station again, he is arrested, finger-printed and a DNA sample taken. The police arrive with search warrants to seize and retain. Tom told Beth he was going to work but he was not at work and he’s nowhere to be found on CCTV. Where did Tom go in a suit with his briefcase at his usual time on Tuesday, if not to work? And why wasn’t he wearing his suit jacket when he came home?

Widower Adam Knight offers Beth support. He lost his wife Camilla a year ago to a severe anaphylaxis reaction to nuts. Would she really have been without her EpiPen? Or is that what really happened to her? The author casts doubt brilliantly.

Tom is charged with the murder of Katie Williams, his former girlfriend but he is confident that they will let him go because there can’t be a case without a body. If they don’t have a time of death, he doesn’t need an alibi. Beth will never turn against him. She loves him, she needs him.

Beth is given a very rough time in the village. “She must have known something” or “You can’t be married that long and not know” are the things she is overhearing from the villagers. Julia invites herself over, brings wine. Is she truly trying to be a friend or is she trying to get information out of Beth?

Then we learn about Phoebe Drake who drowned 15 years ago. How was she connected to Tom? A university sweatshirt figures prominently in this story. Whose sweatshirt was it really?

Tom soon realizes that Beth is cooperating with the police, but he doesn’t believe it because Beth would never sell him out, the police are lying to him about Beth.

When another body is found in Central London, will this be linked back to Tom as well. Is Beth married to a serial killer? What does she know and when did she know it?

Everything is explained in the end and the revelations are worth the wait. Ms. Hunter has written a brilliant mystery/thriller. I have been recommending this book to all my bookish friends. I will be looking forward to more from Ms. Hunter.

There are some editing errors in the book where paragraphs are missing. It took a bit away from the book but not enough to ruin the read.

**page 142 – the paragraph ends but on page 143 the 3 lines that appear at the top of the page don’t follow what was written on the previous page. Something is missing as it picks up mid-sentence.
**page 144 – you can’t tell if this part is Tom speaking.
**page 227-228 – paragraphs are broken here.
**page 277 – ends but page 278 starts in mid-sentence.
**page 297 – paragraph ends, and page 298 starts mid-sentence.

This is a great psychological thriller with plenty of twists throughout that kept me guessing,
This is the first book I’ve read by this author but it definitely won’t be the last.
The ending is great and one that I definitely didn’t see coming.