“SHE TRUSTED HER HUSBAND. SHE SHOULDN’T HAVE”



This is the first book I have read by this well-established author in the genre of psychological thrillers, but it definitely won’t be my last. First impressions are that this story was never going to be action-packed, nor was it going to change the world. However, the plot was solid, I really enjoyed the writing style, and the characters were well defined and developed.

To elaborate on the premise without giving away any spoilers, is going to be hard going, but I’ll give it a try…
…

Emily and Aidan are on their way to having the textbook family of 2.4 children, with four-year-old son Josh and a new baby due very soon. Emily believes that Aidan is successful in his job as a luxury car salesman, in fact the owner of the dealership, Marcus and his wife Dani are known to the couple socially. However, as time goes on, Emily suspects that not everything is rosy in the garden, she is convinced that Aidan has something to hide and is lying to her to cover it up. When she finally manages to drag the secret from him, it is far worse than she imagined and has the potential to change their lives irrevocably, maybe even fatally, as it later transpires that even now, despite the increased danger, he still hasn’t revealed the full truth to her.

Marcus and Dani are wealthy and want for nothing, except the addition of a baby to complete their domestic idyll. Dani is continually destined to be disappointed and whilst Marcus would do anything to make her dream come true, she is unaware of the extreme lengths to which he would go and how low he might stoop, to make it happen. The car showroom is the respectable front for the more lucrative dealings he conducts behind the scenes and Marcus thinks nothing of taking full advantage of a vulnerable Aidan, then being quite prepared to take extreme and ultimate measures, to ensure the debt is repaid.

An increasingly suspicious Dani does some investigating of her own and when she realises exactly how much of a low life her husband has become, his equally reprehensible attempts to make them a family, with the addition of a baby, leave her totally destroyed and prepared to see him locked up for a very long time.
Marcus tracks down Aidan and Emily, who have fled their home, and has one of his thugs exact retribution for the unpaid debt. Dani has a plan of her own to make Marcus pay and when the dust has settled and both she and Emily have the babies they both so desire, she understandably believes that the recent past can be laid to rest.

But there is just one more untold secret, which might remain that way, and probably should!
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This intense, atmospheric and textured, multi-layered storyline, is told in short, crisp and fluent chapters, generally narrated seamlessly in alternating voices by Emily and Dani, with some random interspersions by an unnamed third party (although these were probably a little superfluous).

At its outset, this slowly evolving and disturbing storyline has three separate strands, which are skilfully woven together during the course of time. I had worked out quite early on how two of them might be linked, however the third connection I definitely never saw coming. I always enjoy a well-structured, suspenseful and complex plot, which has me thinking outside of the box, but in this story, everyone has a secret, and each is revealed in stages as the plot evolves and unfolds, saving the dirtiest and most twisted for last, just as you would expect. However, the character who holds the prized ace card, is probably the one I least expected!

Whilst the physical footprint of the story isn’t actually very large, some excellent, detailed narrative and dialogue, which is totally immersive and very descriptive, really helps to establish a genuine and highly visual, sense of time and place. This is a part of the country I actually know quite well, as it is my husband’s home turf, so to speak. However, it is always nice to be able to sit back, relax and enjoy an ‘armchair journey’, without needing to leave the comfort of my own home.

The complex, unreliable and volatile characters; are all singularly selfish, self-centred and duplicitous; so you couldn’t, or shouldn’t, trust a word they say, or any actions they take, which makes them excellent for their roles in this wicked hotbed of lies and deceit.

“Oh! What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive”
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Thank you for taking the time to read my review!

Two marriages, secrets and lies...

How well do you know someone? What happens when the person you think you know turns into a perfect stranger? This book took me by surprise and had me turning the pages to see just what was going to happen!

Emily is a pregnant woman with a young son. She is married to Aiden and looking forward to the birth of her child. Aiden has not been himself lately and Emily is getting worried.

Dani is married to Marcus. She is friendly with Emily and Marcus is Aiden's employer. Dani is doing everything she can to be healthy and wishes Marcus would follow suit. Marcus has been acting strangely lately and Dani is getting worried.

Boland has done it again! She had me wanting to know more as I flew through the pages. I enjoyed both Emily's and Dani's POV's as we learn more about each woman, her marriage, her doubts, fears, and thoughts. Both are equally interesting, and I was equally invested in learning about each.

Boland keeps readers on their toes with plenty of twists, turns, and drama in this book. I love books with tension and this one had it flowing throughout.

Fans of Boland will devour this book! If you have not read her work before, this is a great place to start!

Tense, dramatic and well thought out!


#APerfectStranger #NetGalley

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Emily and Aiden have a good marriage. They have one young son, Josh, and Emily is pregnant with another child. Emily works as a receptionist at a doctor’s office and Aiden works as a car salesman making fairly good money.

Marcus owns the car dealership and he and his wife, Dani. She wants nothing more than to have a baby and works hard to keep fit and eat well in hopes of improving her chances to get pregnant.

Aiden finally confides to Emily that he has been caught up in online gambling and now owing an outrageous amount of money, he is being pursued by some very bad people to pay it back. Emily is shocked and they realize they are going to have to go into hiding and change their names.

This is a reasonably good story of suspense. Emily is certainly a strong character. She and Dani are quite strong characters as compared to their weak husbands. Hope that’s not a spoiler. The ending is good and I liked that. Enjoy.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Unfortunately this one was a bit of a miss for me.

It took a long time to get going and when it did, the story felt incredibly disjointed. You knew that the two story lines would come together but it was all done in a very hurried way within the last few chapters. Not enough build up with the story staying pretty flat for 85% of the book and then going from 0-100 for the end.

Another great psychological thriller by Shalini Boland. She never disappoints.
Emily's husband, Aiden, has been acting strange and she doesn't know what is wrong. so she throws him a surprise birthday party to cheer him up. Instead it has made him upset and she feels he is ungrateful for what she has done for him.
Dani Baines is speaking to him. His bosses beautiful wife. Someone with all the money ad beauty. Emily wants a life like that.
After the party Aiden confesses to Emily what is going on and it shocks her and now she is confused and hurt.
They have to go on the run with their 4 year old son, Josh, and Emily is pregnant and due soon.
Dani also is trying really hard to get pregnant and her husband is not acting himself all of a sudden. Having parties and inviting strangers over. She doesn't understand what is going on. so she starts snooping and what she finds out is quite chilling.
There are a few twists in this book and the one at the end really had my jaw dropping.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the book to review.

Another great book from Shalini Boland.
There are alternating chapters from Emily and Dani and both women are having problems in their marriage.
Emily finds out that her husband has been hiding something huge from her and their lives need to change dramatically.
Dani is desparate for a child but with her husband becoming more and more distant, she suspects he is hiding something from her.
This is a gripping read and I really felt for both characters who had their lives shattered by their husband’s actions.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I hold my breath as my handsome husband walks through the door. I've planned the perfect surprise birthday party for him. Our friends are gathered and the champagne is flowing. But when I catch the look in his deep brown eyes, I realise I've got this horribly wrong. Now it's the end of the party and the man I love is confessing a secret that shocks me to the core. But it's not what I was afraid of. It's much worse.

Emily and Aiden have a young son, Josh, and they have a baby on the way. Emily works as a doctors receptionist while Aiden is a car salesman. Aiden's boos Marcus' wife Dani has everything she wants, except for a baby.

The story is told in alternating points of view from Emily and Dani. Aiden and Marcus have both been hiding secrets from their wives. This fast paced read drew mw in from the prologue and kept my attention throughout. There's also a mystery character we hear from but we learn more about them towards the end of the book. It's tense. well written and I liked how the story ended.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Bookouture and the author #ShaliniBoland for my ARC of #APerfectStranger in exchange for an honest review.

When you pick up a Shalini Boland book you know you are going to be hooked and thoroughly entertained - well this one is no exception !!

Emily is married to Aiden, they have a son and a baby on the way. Although they are not wealthy they live in a nice house and everything seems to be going well. But then Aiden starts to act strangely and he reveals a secret to Emily, one she wasn’t expecting and it’s going to change their lives forever.

Dani is married to Marcus, Aiden’s boss at a car dealership. She lives in a gorgeous house, has some lovely friends but something is missing. Suddenly Marcus starts acting strangely, hanging around with some people that Dani feels uneasy around. What is going on ? And what is Marcus involved in ?

This is a brilliant psychological thriller that you won’t want to put down. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep you hooked. This is the type of book you will want to rush through the pages to find out what happens but at the same time you just don’t want it to end !!

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

This is the 11th book I’ve read by this Author and as with all the previous ones it was an excellent psychological thriller. Shalini Boland is another of my ‘go to’ authors so I don’t even read the book blurb as I just know I’ll be in for one superb read. Well right from the prologue this book had me completely absorbed . I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough on this gripping read. There were a few OMG moments that had me breathing deeply as I was reading. Another book I highly recommend from this fantastic author,

This was such a good thriller! I had no idea when things would come together or how everyone fit exactly…. But then they did. Kind of hope there will be a second book to continue the story!

Did not finish. I was disappointed by this one because I love The Other Daughter by Shalini Boland. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Told in two perspectives, this is the story of Emily and Aiden and their son Josh, and Dani and Marcus. Marcus and Dani own the car dealership that Aiden works for. From the outside, Dani and Marcus want for nothing and Emily and Aiden are scraping by. But they have more in common than any of them knows. As the pages fly by, you’re left with a “oh snap” because you probably should have seen it coming (but I didn’t!)
The characters are solid and the stories intersect in a way that you expect, but when you least expect it, there’s a pretty major twist.
Solid read, as per the norm for this author.

I have mixed feelings about this book. The writing style is easy to follow and it pulls a reader into the book. But the book description for not the first time is deceiving. The focus is on the boss’ wife and their lack of interaction at the party but all of it and the party were such a minor detail in the story. The built up is very good but the end is not satisfying enough. The end is not developed enough, nothing deep or surprising. There needs to be more development of the bag guy to be more believable. The wife showing up to confront the bad guy also seemed extremely naive. It’s lucky she stayed alive. So yes, overall, the book lacks a better ending or a better release of all that built up. The reaction of the wife after finding the dead husband was also too gimmick and no longer “I” but more like watching from a side.

Another fantastic quick-paced page-turner by the legend Shalini Boland!

I am still yet to find a book by Shalini Boland that I do not like, each of her stories are jam-packed with amazing twists and turns alongside heaps of breath-taking suspense, what is there not to love! I think I read the second half of the prologue for this book without taking a breath! The anticipation was insane, I knew something was going to happen but not what or when and from there on this book was an incredible page-turner!

The chapters in this story switch between the perspectives of Emily and Dani. Emily is happily married to Aiden, they have a young son and a baby on the way. Things have been tight money-wise, but they’re happy. Well, that is, they were happy until Aiden drops a big bombshell on Emily. From here on their lives change forever and whilst Emily should probably take their son and walk away, she realises the only way to protect herself and her family is to keep them together.

Dani is married to Marcus, a very rich man who runs a luxury car business. To everyone else they have a perfect life, even Dani thinks so herself at times, but Marcus has been acting strange lately and has been hanging around with some new people which begins to cause arguments between the couple. Dani is confused but determined to find out what is going on with her husband.

Emily and Dani’s stories run quite separately throughout this book, with the slight connection being that Aiden works for Marcus. I found myself guessing constantly about what was going on and why and couldn’t quite work out how the two stories would merge. I’m pleased to say my guesses were wrong and I thoroughly enjoyed being shocked and surprised by the twists and turns as they happened.

I definitely prefer a fast-paced read to a slow-burner and that is what I love about this story, the suspicions, the tension and all the drama were constant, never allowing my attention to wane. I never read the blurbs for Shalini’s books as I know I’ll love them and I like to just dive in, not knowing anything about the story at all. I think this definitely helps me feel more surprised at things that happen in the book. As with all Shalini’s books, this story is not too taxing, it is easy to follow and incredibly hard to put down!

I can’t finish my review without mentioning the incredible ending for this book, I did not see it coming and it certainly left me speechless!

Gripping and tense with twists and suspense! Don’t miss out on reading A Perfect Stranger which will be published on July 11th.

Thank you to Shalini Boland, Bookouture and NetGalley for my early copy of this book.

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘A Perfect Stranger’ by Shalini Boland in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Emily is convinced her husband Aidan is having problems but she’s shocked when he tells her that together with their four-year-old son Josh they have to move away from their home to somewhere far away and start again with new identities. Aiden says his boss Marcus has made him redundant from his prestige car showroom but it doesn’t make sense to Emily and when he eventually confesses his secret and says their lives are in danger it’s even worse than she’d anticipated.

Any novel written by Shalini Boland is going to be an unmissable read and ‘A Perfect Stranger’ is no exception. The prologue gives a taste of what lies ahead but even I couldn’t believe what was happening as the story builds to a breath-taking climax. This brilliant thriller is exceptionally well-written with thought-provoking characters involved in believable situations. I was especially gripped as the story is based in my part of Dorset, and who doesn’t enjoy reading of goings-on in places they’re familiar with. The plot is strong with bucket-loads of suspense, drama, intrigue, and twists and turns, but it’s the firecracker of an ending that’s staggering and has completely taken me by surprise. I’ve loved this thriller having devoured it in less than a day and would willingly give it ten stars if I could.

It's no secret that I'm a great lover of Shalini's work, but she's honestly knocked it out of the park with A Perfect Stranger.

It takes incredible writing talent to make a reader emotionally invest in a story so deeply. I was so distracted and engulfed by the story 'at hand' that I didn't even notice the subtle threads all building to a disastrous conclusion.

I've kept my review deliberately vague for fear of not spoiling, but I will say that Aiden in particular is a fantastic character. He's written in such a way that he's not meant to be liked, but he's human and strangely feels very real and authentic.

The plot in this book focuses on 2 women’s lives who are living in the same city. They don’t intersect, and while you read each other’s struggles, you start to put the pieces together. One woman is pregnant and the other wants to have a baby badly.

Their lives come together at the end of the book with mystery, suspense and action. Truly, if you read the end of the book first, you will ruin the entire plot.

Due to some explicit scenes, I would not recommend this book for teens or younger readers. I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my review.

They say never to judge a book by its cover… but I think we’d all be lying if we said we didn’t!

Honestly, the cover/look of this book didn’t fill me with high hopes (so judgemental I know!) So I didn’t have high expectations in the story.
I’m actually happy to admit I was so wrong!

The prologue instantly caught my attention The book follows the story of Emily & Dani’s very different lifestyles & the twists along the way did not disappoint. Right up until the very last page!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book & I’m a sucker for anything psychological or with a twist!
The style of writing I loved, and I LOVE books with different POVs. The story had me hooked from the very beginning.

I’ve never read any of Shalini Boland’s books before, but I wouldn’t hesitate in picking up another.

Thankyou to NetGalley & the publisher for an ARC

Pov
The story mainly focuses on two main character's POV which is Emily and Dani. They both have troubles and suspicions about their husbands and it seems like they somehow have different agenda but you will know better in the end.

My Thoughts
This book got me hooked since the beginning passage is about Emily finding out her husband is dead. However, it's not as I expected in the end.

The story is about Emily finding out her husband owe a huge amount of money from his gambling online. They have no choice but to move out somewhere since Aidan is sure the "bad guys" will do something bad to them. Dani is also trying her best to change her lifestyle for a healthier body since she really wanted to have a baby so bad. She also notices weird change in behaviour of her husband and his activities which makes her very curious.

The flow of the story is good but I am disappointed about the end chapters. Like how Emily and Aidan allowed a new tenant and all of a sudden everything escalated from there. Incidents finally connected to each other but it's not as exciting as I imagined.

The two end chapter reveals everything that actually happened. Both Emily and Dani expresses their emotion about what happened. Turns out Emily's revelation is a bomb. She talks about what truly happened before things escalated and it's sickening. Emily's revelation is my favourite since it's the only chapter I reacted a lot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the Advance Reading Copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

A very entertaining and drama filled story about secrets, lies, addiction, money and murder! Highly recommend.