Full Review (Polished for Instagram or Goodreads)

The Marriage Rule by Helen Monks Takhar is a compelling psychological drama that gradually pulls you into the unraveling life of Elle. At first, the story’s slow pace made it tough to settle in—I found myself more intrigued by the tension between Elle and Dom than the early backstory. However, the dual timeline structure, shifting between Elle waking up beside a dead body and the preceding three weeks, cleverly builds suspense and keeps you turning the pages.

While parts of the plot felt predictable, the emotional depth and portrayal of a marriage under strain—shadowed by Elle’s struggle with motherhood, addiction, and isolation—ground the novel in a sobering reality. The “marriage rule” that looms over Elle is a haunting metaphor for the compromises and silent suffering that can happen behind closed doors.

Overall, it’s a slow burner that rewards patience with a gripping payoff. Fans of psychological thrillers with a focus on complex relationships will find plenty to think about here.

This author writes a stinger of a book, one of her previous books ‘Precious You’ now re published as ‘That Woman’ was my fav book of 2020 so I know what to expect when start a new book, however it is always still shockingly unexpected….and as raw as can be, as real as reality, as harsh as life is and yet more than readable if uncomfortable at times, cozy it is not

I will give warning that the book includes marital rape and abuse, psychological and sexual but it is needed in context to the main story in the book and the outcomes

The author doesn’t just touch on themes some would skittle away from she devours them and is indulgent ( is that the right word ? ) in a good way and backs up her fiction with non fiction statistics at the end of the book, disgusting statistics that will shock anyone, this though is good for any doubters to the fiction side

The story is bold and covers all manner of things from marital mental bullying and control to workplace harassment, friendship loyalty, sexual appeasement in a marriage,feelings of not being adequate as a new Mum, alcohol dependency, family loyalties, food abuse and keeping a woman ‘big’ to suit a husbands dominance and many other subject matters

In amongst all this is a really good story with all these angles and layers fitting around it, good and loathsome characters and yes a monster twist that was superb

Read this author with caution as she will challenge you and make you question things

Superb and disquieting, brilliant and harrowing, dark but with chinks of light

Ellie cannot recognise how much her life has changed in the post-partum period, and she is struggling to cope. Unable to maintain a satisfactory sex life with her husband, she seeks escape in other pursuits.

Influenced by her accessive alcohol consumption, she awakens one day to find herself confused and in a VERY compromising set of circumstances.

The story then starts from the period set around 3 weeks before this event, and illuminates how Ellie comes to find herself in this situation. The million dollar question is, what will she do now?

Although the pacing is a little uneven, and some aspects of the story are not as suspenseful as they could be, this book is worth reading for its forensic examination of the darker side of marriage, and the toll that takes on its participants.

This was a compelling narrative that I felt more drawn to, the more I read. However, admittedly it did take me a while to settle into the story and for the first chunk of the novel, I was worried this would be a non-starter read.

The book is cleverly structured at the beginning and ending of Elle’s crisis. In present day, she wakes up in bed next to a dead body, an abhorrent hang over and very little memory of what happened. Readers are then taken back twenty one days previously, and we begin to understand how events lead up to Elle’s strange awakening.

Initially I was frustrated by how slow the story took to get going. I felt I was more interested in the bedroom scene and couldn’t care much about what happened to Elle previously. Yet, the more I learned about this past narrative, the more I realised its importance. Indeed, it came to the point where each timeline ended on a cliff-hanger, making me hungry to read further about revelations.

To a point, the plot is predictable. I found it quite obvious to see the direction that the story was headed, perhaps adding to my trouble immersing myself into the novel. However, I was compelled by how the past would marry up to the present, as well as seeing the bigger picture with Elle’s marriage. She is clearly struggling, based on how much alcohol she consumes, and cannot see that her marriage to Dom isn’t perhaps as glorious as she may have thought.

Covering particularly sobering themes, Monks Takhar explores marriage and relationships. Marriage vows are taken to a new extreme in this book and Elle can’t help but question why she struggles to satisfy Dom on the intimate side of their relationship. According to Elle’s close friend, this is what ‘the marriage rule’ means, and if there isn’t satisfaction, this should bring the marriage into question. Yet, as the narrative progresses, it is soon evident that bedroom antics are not the only thing that Elle should be worried about.

This was dark and I enjoyed seeing how the plot threads would come together. Monks Takhar still leaves a few surprises for readers and I appreciated these a long the way. In my opinion, I think the writer intends for readers to guess an element of the story because it is a reflection of the sector that Elle works in and the realisation about the reality of people’s circumstances. Indeed, significantly, Elle’s life takes on a mirror of the people she represents at work – except she, like so many others, cannot recognise this.

Be prepared for darkness and a slow burner of a story. However, once it gets going, you find you cannot put this book down and want to know just how far this ‘marriage rule’ will either make or break Elle’s life.

With thanks to HQ and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

From its thought-provoking and shocking start, this story continues in dual timelines, revealing the reasons for Elle's current dilemma through past actions and events. The story explores marriage, relationships and societal pressures on women. The challenges of motherhood and career lead Elle into a downward spiral as she navigates survival in her outwardly perfect existence. The multilayered narrative disguises what is happening in Elle and Dom's relationships. It's addictive reading, despite its disturbing events and unlikeable characters. Each revelation increases the menace and threatens dark consequences. I enjoyed this story's characterisation, suspense and distinctly noir ethos.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Elle is a new mother and married to adoring husband Dom but she finds she is struggling. When she turns her attention briefly to another man she is shocked to wake up next to him, especially as he appears to have been murdered. She does all she can think to do and calls her husband for help.

I enjoyed the concept of this one and was expecting a fun, twisty read. However I ended up finding that although it started strongly, it felt a bit predictable and I found the writing style difficult to connect with. I did enjoy the way the author tackles some serious issues and the reasons behind the overall story. The characters didn’t really draw me in either and I found that I wasn’t always as invested in the story as I should have been. This wasn’t a bad thriller overall, but for me I have probably read a few too similar ones recently. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

I have read and enjoyed all this author's previous books so I was very happy to get my mitts on this, her latest. And I wasn't disappointed!
In this book we meet Elle. She is struggling juggling parenting with work, she is also trying to get back her pre-baby body and intimacy between her and adoring husband Dom is waning. She is also feeling guilty about that as he is so helpful with the baby, and she is so tired. So tired that her work performance is being affected, her boss being oh so pleased to point out her every mistake. And she is drinking way too much. In fact, she really isn't having a great time of things at all. Until she meets Gabriel at work. There's a spark. One that shouldn't be there. And then that spark is acted on and they start to grab moments together. And then there's a work do, in a hotel, and she has booked a room.
Long story short, she wakes up, next to a dead body. With scant memory of what happened the night before...
And so begins a rather eye opening story which I really do confess, the most of which I never saw coming. Yes there were hints and things in the first few chapters that had my spidey senses tingling, and I did feel a few things were a bit off, but I never thought we were going there! I'd love to wax lyrical more but, you know, spoilers! Suffice to say, as soon as it all really kicked off, I sat back with my huge bucket of (imaginary) popcorn, and just enjoyed the ride...
One of the things I really loved about this book was the way that the author drew me in and set my feelings about Elle, mostly through her own words in the drinking journal she has decided to keep. And then, once I had all that fixed in my head, turned the world upside down as the truth started being revealed. The whole shocking truth.
Other characters were just as well described. I especially loved the portrayal of Dom's mother. She must have been fun to write, she definitely was great to read! And what can I say about the main main himself. Well, not much really cos, spoilers. But I can say he was a cracker too.
And the story, brutal and with no punches pulled it really tugged on my emotions. Positive and negative and all things in-between. If I had to criticise, and I kinda do as that's the point of a review, pacing is a bit off in the beginning. I know there is a bunch to set up, but it did drag a wee bit on occasion. Also I wasn't as wholly satisfied at the ending as maybe I could have been, but, again, I can't explain why here.
All in all though, a good solid read that I did enjoy and which is also a good addition to what is shaping up to be a very decent back catalogue. I do wonder what the author will have for me next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Helen Monks Takhar is one of my favourite writers and her books never fail to keep me hooked from beginning to end, This book was no different and I absolutely loved the twists and it really kept me on the edge of my seat.

Elle is spiralling. and she shouldnt be because she has everything a woman should want right? perfect husband and baby. perfect life. but she doesnt feel it. she just doesnt feel right.
when she turns to alcohol for help it doesnt do anything good for her. and when she wakes up one morning in more trouble than she could ever imagine.what now? the only person she can turn to will end up destroying her life. but not for the reason you might assume it would.
i was kept guessing throughout this book. i had my ideas but was glad to read and see if i was right. there is lots of dark themes covered and a few more shocking than others. but it was well followed through and s everything started to be explained the tension and fear builds well for Elle and the reader alike.

For me this was just an ok read much better towards the end and I didn't guess that ending at all trigger warnings for abuse not sure I'd recommend this one

The Marriage Rule by Helen Monks Takhar is a twisty domestic thriller which deals with the pressures of juggling marriage, motherhood and work. Elle is struggling to do just that even though her husband, Dom, seems like the perfect partner. Elle finds herself increasingly drawn to her colleague Gabriel. One morning Elle finds herself lying next to a body, and it isn't her husband. Maybe everything would have been alright if she had stuck to the marriage rule.
The Marriage Rule had many satisfying twists that I genuinely didn't see coming and the story kept me engaged, The book explores the themes of relationships, guilt and the pressures modern women face well, however I struggled to connect with the characters and felt that although the title is The Marriage Rule this only formed a fairly insignificant part of the plot.
Readers should be aware that it also deals with issues around rape and may be triggering to some people.

A highly unenjoyable read, with really horrible characters and a very upsetting plot, it felt like a drag to read sadly and is overall quite triggering too. I really wanted to enjoy this but I absolutely did not.

This book was a bit iffy.

The story was drawn out far longer than it needed to be. Especially when a third of it was explanations.

Some thing(s) I liked:
✅The final twist

Some thing(s), not so much:
⭕The rape scenes were gratuitous and entirely unnecessary in such explicit detail. In fact, they felt like they were there for titillation more than anything else.

I found this an interesting read with its twists and turns but felt it was going clearly down the coercive route. I wanted more from it . The marriage rule itself failed to be a link throughout.

The Marriage Rule by Helen Monks Takhar is a gripping and suspenseful thriller that delves into the complexities of marriage, motherhood, and moral dilemmas. Nine months into motherhood, Elle is struggling with the pressures of balancing her career, her new role as a mother, and her evolving relationship with her husband, Dom. Despite Dom being a hands-on father and supportive partner, Elle feels increasingly disconnected and overwhelmed by the challenges of her new life.

Seeking solace in her charismatic colleague Gabriel and a few too many glasses of wine, Elle finds herself in an unthinkable situation. One morning, she wakes up in a hotel room to find herself next to a man who isn’t her husband—and he’s dead. This shocking twist forces Elle to turn to Dom for help, knowing that asking for his assistance could shatter their lives forever.

The book is filled with twists and turns that keep readers on the edge of their seats. Takhar masterfully alternates between the present and the past, slowly revealing the events that led up to the deadly situation Elle finds herself in. The book explores deep themes of guilt, betrayal, and the complexities of relationships, while also tackling difficult topics such as rape and the pressures placed on women in society. These heavy themes are handled thoughtfully, though the book may be triggering for some readers.

With well-developed characters, a tense atmosphere, and a plot full of unexpected developments, The Marriage Rule is a must-read for fans of thrillers. Takhar’s writing keeps you guessing until the final page, leaving a lasting impact long after the book ends. If you enjoy a thriller that combines psychological depth with suspense, this book is sure to captivate you.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

A new author to me but sadly it wasn't for me. I found it hard to get into the storyline and even harder to engage with the characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ for this ARC but just wasn't for me.

A new author for me and sad to say I couldnt get into the story. It appears that I am in the minority and that others have loved it. Just not for me

A medium paced domestic noir with many reveals and twists.

Good for fans of both genres but not pace enough to be a thriller.

Great writing but I was expecting it all to lean heavily on “The Marriage Rule” and that was not as important as I thought.

THE MARRIAGE RULE BY HELEN MONKS TAKHAR.
5 STARS.
Release date set for the 8th of May 2025.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
It had me hooked from the very beginning.
I loved the story line and thought it was paced perfectly.
This story is told in the past and present.
Check your triggers as there are a few sensitive topics.
This is my first book by this author and I've seen she has another 3 out that i will check out.

A young mother, Elle is struggling, even though her husband, Dom, is the perfect father and husband. Gradually, Elle relies more and more on red wine to help her get through the day.
But when Elle wakes up in a hotel room next to her murdered colleague with no memory of the night before, she knows the only person who can help is her husband.

A compelling and suspenseful thriller that boldly tackles the ever-topical themes of the struggles of being a new mother, bullying in the workplace and, above all, the insidiousness of psychological abuse. This is also a story of female solidarity – women supporting women. In The Marriage Rule, Helen Monks Tahkar has created memorable characters and executed a clever twist!