Miranda...Miranda...Miranda...did this book put Miranda on my radar...yes...yes it did. It was so good! Highly recommend it!!

I enjoyed reading this book, I liked the different viewpoints and thought the ending was great. The characters are all believable and the story was well set out. I would recommend and would definitely look for other books by this author x

ed States on 20 May 2022
The chilling prologue gripped me right away, so I expected another suspenseful thriller from one of my favorite authors. What a disappointment! As things turned out, the prologue is the only suspenseful part of a long, tedious plot that finally reaches a rushed, rather nonsensical conclusion. (WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!) Here's a bit of the plot. The story is told by our two protagonists. Mia, a struggling violinist, works as a house cleaner and assistant for Robin Featherstone, a renowned composer. Tamsin, Robin's second wife, is a beautiful woman twenty-five years younger than him. Soon after their marriage, Robin suffers a stroke that affects his mobility. When he's found dead at the bottom of the stairs, we're left to wonder: did he fall, or was he pushed? And if he was pushed, whodunit? The plot thickens when we learn that Robin wrote a new will two days before his death. Instead of leaving his entire estate to Tamsin, his lawful wife, he bequeaths everything to Mia, his cleaner! Naturally, Tamsin is shocked and horrified, along with Robin's other family members: his first wife (Claudia), his daughter (Brooke), and his son (David). They immediately decide to contest the will, believing Mia somehow coerced Robin into signing a fraudulent document. The plot thickens again when Mia receives a letter from Robin written just before his death, in which he informs her of the new will. The letter also contains these ominous words: "It is very likely that by the time you read this letter, I will be dead. I think someone is trying to kill me, Mia." Yikes! Is it true? Was Robin murdered? You bet. The rest of the book is a tedious murder mystery. Here's the thing that really bothered me. The author lets us know from the get-go that neither Mia nor Tamsin pushed Robin down those stairs. Mia was in Europe when he died, and Tamsin found his dead body. After these two spoilers, why do we need to read page after page of Tamsin's suspicions about Mia and Mia's suspicions about Tamsin? It makes no sense to waste the reader's time this way, when the focus should be on likely suspects instead: Claudia, Brooke, David, the housekeeper (Pavla), Pavla's husband (Thomas), and their son (Marek). Finally, our two protagonists start to suspect the other players in this plot. David lied about being in Switzerland when Robin died. Marek is a sneaky, lying fellow. Pavla lied about being at the pharmacy when Robin died. And what about Thomas, the genial gardener/maintenance man? You'll get no final answers from me, but it all comes together in a rushed, rather nonsensical conclusion that left me shaking my head, wondering what on earth was that all about? Flawless proofreading (always appreciated) and a clever twist in the final chapter manage to raise my rating to two stars overall for this foolish tale.

I hate to say it but this book was bad. Like bad BAD! No suspense, no feeling, like did not pull one emotion out of me except boredom. I hate when an author is just telling you how to feel, you should draw those emotions out of me with your writing! The whole storyline felt predictable - the second wife is 25 years younger, ex wife and children suspects shes a gold digger, husband gets pushed down the stairs…

Even when major events were taking place they were so anti-climatic and short lived. I don’t know what the point of building up to those moments even was if they were going to be so bland. Most scenarios just felt so ridiculous like i was watching a bad acting scene. Would not recommend

Thanks to @netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

As ever Rijks writes a unputdownable psychological thriller that will keep you busy (and guessing) for a few hours.

The writing is great and I really enjoyed the book.

Tamsin is newlywed to famous composer Robin when he suffers a stroke and later dies. The will proves a shock to his whole family...
The Second Wife is a domestic drama novel with psychological thriller elements and a potential murder mystery.
The book is written from the alternating first person perspectives of Tamsin, Robin's second wife, and Mia, their cleaner. Both women have secrets in their backgrounds that make them vulnerable, whilst also possessing a determination to improve their lives. It also makes them potentially unreliable narrators and my opinion of them was swayed from chapter to chapter.
One of the themes that stood out for me was the idea of our preconceptions and prejudice. Tamsin is assumed to be a gold digger for marrying an older man, while Mia is desperate to hide the stigma of her past. Robin's children have a sense of entitlement based on their family link and assume there is a natural path of inheritance.
I enjoyed the gradual character development and the snippets of information that the narrators reveal. There are some good twists in the plot which built up the momentum towards the finale.
The Second Wife is entertaining and enjoyable.

I typically love this author and always reach for her books but this one wasn’t a win for me. I think going into this book I was looking for something different then what this was. I thought I was reading about the second wife, the possible gold digger. But this story seemed focused on Mia. I felt like the title was misleading.

It was a ok book. Not as good as her previous books, but doesn’t change my opinion on her brilliance.

A young musician with a shady past takes a cleaning role with rich,famous composer Robin. Her perspective on events is interspersed with Robin’s young,second wife Tamsin. When Robin dies falling down the stairs, surprise and conflict flows from the demands of his updated will.

Very readable, as ever, from Miranda Rijks. Despite all the many questions posed, rather too many of them by characters themselves thinking aloud, it’s a nice good story that ties everything up nicely.

I read The New Neighbor by Riijks and loved it! The Second Wife was good but I didn't get as drawn into the characters or plot as I did with The New Neighbor.

This is a page turner for sure and had me thinking of Knives Out.

I love Riijks's writing style and will continue to read her books.

Thank you NetGalley and Inkubator Books for this ARC!

I had really high hopes for this book but they were rather ruined from the get go as there is a major spoiler in the synopsis for the book.

Overall the book was just really generic and nothing that I hadn't read before. The big twist at the end just seemed really farfetched and ridiculous and I just didn't care by that point.

Also, I felt that we were supposed to be rooting for the character of Mia but she was just so horrendous I don't see how that was possible.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Inkubator Books and Miranda Rijks for the copy of this book. All views are my own.*

An enjoyable and unusual mystery. A composer dies, a death that isn't very suspicious until he leaves everything to his cleaner along with a letter.

Told in alternating viewpoints of the cleaner and the second wife, this story drew me in and I definitely did not anticipate the twists.

I received an ARC from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

A mystery with an interesting premise: a wealthy composer dies in what don’t appear to be suspicious circumstances - until he leaves all his money to the cleaner, along with a letter. The novel is written from the perspective of said cleaner, Mia, and the second wife of the title, Tamsin, the title isn’t really representative overall as the book is at least as much about Mia as it is about Tamsin, For me, it took a while to get going, but once it did I got into the story and didn’t see the twists coming. I found Mia’s chapters easier to read on the whole, Tamsin’s voice didn’t feel very authentic as a first person narrative until later on in the book. Overall, an enjoyable mystery that is a bit different from the norm and is centred on female characters.

I am a big fan of Miranda Rijks, and after reading all of her books, I can say that The Second Wife is by far her best work to date! I love the way the story is told from different perspectives (both women you love and hate!) and has the right amount of twists. The ending is shocking and better than I could have imagined!

Tasmin married for love... but is she ready to die for it? Robin who is much older is close to his assistant Mia. Is he too close? You will have to read the book to find out the answer! Robin's ex-wife and children go above and beyond when he suddenly dies to make sure neither woman is able to inherit anything. I was hooked from chapter one. It was a wild and suspenseful ride! This was my first book by this author and I am now hooked!

Miranda Rijkys, The Second Wife, Inkubator Books 2022.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this uncorrected proof in exchange for an honest review.

In my review of Miranda Rijks’ “What She Knew” I stated that it would not be the last of her novels that I would read. I cannot say the same of this one. It was a very disappointing read. Although it was well paced, with first person commentary from the two main characters, and a disturbing short piece from an initially unknown character, the plot floundered at times. Some incidents, although necessary to develop relationships, had no rational basis – there needed to be more attention given to how to achieve the former without undermining the reader’s credulity. The motivation for some of the perpetuator’s behaviour did not exist.

The title suggests that Tamsin, Robin Featherstone’s new young wife will be the main protagonist. However, Mia Benton the cleaner, is the character who resonates. Mia and Tamsin take turns to relate events – those of their previous experiences, their thoughts about each other and the other characters, and their involvement in, and reaction to, events.

Mia Benton is a violinist whose secret has truncated her career and made it difficult to find work. She is gratified to be the cleaner at Stave House where Robin Featherstone, a renowned composer, initially lives alone. A married housekeeper, Pavla, whose husband, Thomas, attends to the outside work has lived for years in a cottage on the estate. Their son with special needs is a quiet observer of events. Visitors to Stave House are Claudia, Robin’s first wife, and their daughter, Brooke. David, their son, is an unknown quantity, appearing only part way through the book.

Tamsin met Robin while working in her PR job, they fall in love at first sight and marry quickly. Claudia, Brooke and Pavla disapprove of the marriage and Tamsin. However, when Robin dies after suffering a stroke that has brought Mia closer to him, the three band together to disprove the will that has been made in Mia’s favour.
The character development is quite good, with Tamsin alternately despairing the changes in her husband, and eventually the loss of him. She shows an honest delight in the lifestyle she has chanced upon, together with undeniable love for Robin. Although she is accused of being a gold digger, the assessment is unjust. Similarly, accusations against Mia are unjustified. Both women are a mixture of pettiness, honourable intentions and sometimes irrational behaviour which has its basis in their pasts.

The will is central to the novel and used as the reason for much of the behaviour. However, its centrality is over drawn as a cause in some of the later criminal events. No further deaths can change its provisions. It is here in particular, that for me the novel failed. I also found Mia’s compliance with the other characters at odds with her past as a successful violinist, which during the novel was reaffirmed by Robin Featherstone and a former colleague. Tamsin rang more true, but the stilted language in her sections of the book do not sit well with her background as a professional communicator. The twists, on which novels such as this depend were, in my view, rather contrived.

I would probably read another of Rijks’ novels based on my genuine admiration for my first experience of her work. However, it does need to be better than “The Second Wife”.

I was so lucky to receive an advance copy of The Second Wife by Miranda Rijks from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I absolutely love Miranda's writing as she always manages to write a twisty, fast paced thriller and this book does not disappoint! Absolutely fantastic! Will take your breath away and leave you racing to the last page just to figure it all out. Do yourself a huge favor and read this ASAP!

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An intriguing psychological thriller, with a great plot and good characters who were both likeable and unlikeable. Definitely a recommended read.

Tamsin marries Robin, a famous composer who is decades older than her. Tamsin doesn't care though because she is in love! Unfortunately, Robin's adult children are skeptical and assume Tamsin is marrying for money. When Robin dies suddenly his will makes everyone question their relationship with Robin.

I really, enjoyed this book and did not see the ending coming at all. The author did a great job tying all the pieces together in an unexpected way.

This book had me absolutely unable to put it down, I read it in one sitting! The characters are well developed and the story itself had so many twists and turns! This will not be my last book by Miranda Rijks, I cannot wait to read more!

Described as a psychological thriller but I thought it was not thrilling , exciting or scary. It was an easy read and the premise of the story is fine. The characters were well drawn but their behaviours are very predictable, so too is the ending.