This was a quick read for me! I enjoyed the duel pov between husband and wife. I also enjoyed the random internal comments she has! This story started a little slow but picked up the farther you got in the book! I wish there was more to the backstory but enjoyed the golden retriever husband that would do anything for the women he loves!

I really, really loved this book! The first half was funny and witty and had me laughing out loud, and the second half had me on the edge of my seat. The ending was perfect – and I loved the cat! Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the early copy. A fabulous read.

Entertaining from the first sentence, My Wife the Serial Killer is a comedy-horror-thriller that explores that dreaded feeling that perhaps you can't trust the person you love, and maybe you never truly knew them. My Wife the Serial Killer doesn't just focus on the strained marriage of Fran and Gareth, but looks at both their lives from different points; Gareth is stuck in the present, wanting to be more ambitious and firm but too cautious to rock the boat, not entirely convinced he knows what his future should be. Fran is trapped in the past and her childhood trauma, letting it consume all aspects of her life in order to enact vengeance. But will vengeance actually give her the peace she craves?

Hooked from the start, MWTSK does start to peter out about 2/3 of the way through - a lot of the things that happen could have been resolved with (yep, you guessed it) ✨communication✨ - however, Garbett hooks you back in with a back story and a final ultimatum that really tests how strong a relationship can be. There's not a huge amount of character development, and any found goes in a very dark direction, but sometimes it's a nice change to see someone become their worst self - we can all aspire to be murdering psychopaths 🥰

Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for ARC access!

🩸 Bookish Thoughts
I absolutely LOVED My Wife, the Serial Killer. I did immersive reading this round, and I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed this as much without the audiobook. The narration brought so much life to the story. I went in expecting a dark humor horror vibe, but it surprised me with so much more.

The first half had me laughing out loud, and Fran’s inner monologue was everything. I adored how much she loved her husband Gareth, and their relationship felt genuinely cozy. Also, shoutout to the cat. And when she threatened Gareth’s coworker for stealing his lunch? Iconic. 🥹

Then things got more emotional. We already had Gareth’s POV early on, but in the second half, we really got to sit with him, and I loved it. He absolutely adores his wife, and his anxious, slightly awkward inner world made him so easy to connect with. He’s quirky, sweet, and honestly kind of adorkable. And when the reasons behind Fran’s choices came to light, it wrecked me. The balance between hilarious and heartbreaking was done so well. I wasn’t prepared to be this emotionally invested, but here we are. I loved the ending, and this is definitely one I’ll be rereading. Easily one of my favorite dark humor reads.

📌 What To Expect
• Killer wife
• Detective husband
• Morally gray FMC
• Dual POV
• Marriage of secrets
• Crime cover-up

📖 Final Score: 5 stars
🎧 Audio Score: 5 stars
🎙️ Narration Style: Dual
📅 Pub Date: June 17, 2025
Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy. All thoughts are my own.

Funny, witty, and a murder book, sign me up.

I think there was some bits missing towards the end, as the first 2/3 gave a lot of context that really explained why Fran did what she did. She was someone I actually wanted to know more about, but I think I was just as in the dark as her lawyer. Simultaneously, the switch from Gareth was a bit shocking and unexpected. While it was a welcome swap, some insight into his mindset would have been useful.

The last chapter was a good and very interesting insight into one of the characters, I really enjoyed that.

3.75 🌟
The story follows Fran who has unalived her next door neighbour and uses humour as her coping mechanism. I can related to the latter! Fran’s husband, Gareth is the detective investigating the case of the said neighbour’s disappearance, oblivious to the fact that the murderer is his own wife.
The first 50% follows dark humour and Fran’s funny monologues. I liked how unhinged and unapologetic she was. Gareth’s POVs were a bit more slow and I didn’t have any firm opinions about him until the very end.
The last 50% gets a bit dark and depressing as we see Fran’s past and what motivated her to unalive her neighbour. The past felt a bit anticlimactic and a lot of development happened off paper. I wanted more of Gareth’s and her relationship towards the end but I guess they are one of those couples who do not need many words to communicate. I loved how protective they were of each other and the ending was perfect!!!

ARC provided by NetGalley. My opinions are based solely off my reading experience.

📖 ARC Review | My Wife, The Serial Killer by H. J. Garbett
📚 Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the advanced reader copy.

A detective husband. A serial killer wife. Recipe for disaster? Absolutely. But also? Wildly entertaining.

This darkly humorous thriller had me genuinely laughing out loud at the sharp, witty moments—while still keeping me hooked with all the secrets, blurred moral lines, revenge plots, and marital tension simmering beneath the surface.

It’s clever, chaotic, and unexpectedly funny in the best twisted way. If you like your thrillers with a side of humor and a dash of domestic dysfunction, this one’s for you.

Okay, this is my first time reading a murder in such a light hearted way. There’s always first in everything- Anyways, Fran killed someone, she didnt plan to kill him. Not now, not yet but the intrusive thought wins when a perfect chance is laid right in front of her. She’s not a serial killer okay? Because serial killer only counts when you kill 3 people and above.
Gareth on the other hand is just some detective at a local police station. Maybe the only case he got is a missing cat until someone calls in and reports a missing person. Little did he know the disappearance of an old man is somehow pointed to her wife.
It's such a psycho for the way Fran kills people. I love her personality tho. She's such a sarcastic bunch and paired with our soft hearted, nerdy like Gareth, they were like a cute couple. And despite the killing and mystery, the awkward humor makes any serious moment light hearted. Overall, I like it especially both of our main characters. And the crime case is enjoyable too. Also, I have to give credit to the epilogue because it was so creative!

Thank you netgalley and storm publisher for this advance copy! What an interesting title and premise! I would always love a good murder story, definitely would recommend for mystery lover.

Whoa. I wasn’t sure where this book was going. And I can’t for sure say I know what actually happened at the end. But it kept me guessing every page and I really enjoyed it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love when authors combine comedy with something that is inherently dark and in this case, a serial killer wife.
I thought the initial premise of this book was really interesting.I loved that the writing was really easy to read (always a positive point).
But personally I couldn't connect with the characters specially Gareth which made it a little hard for me to stay invested throughout the book.
Overall although this book didn't quite work for me I'm definitely going to check this author's future works out.

2.5/5

Thank you netgalley and storm publisher for this advance copy. I really enjoyed this book, it was a quick and fun to read. Definitely got me out of a reading slump that I was in. There was some dark humour that I appreciated in the book, which made it that more entertaining. A very cat and mouse story.

3.5☆'s

Thank you to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the advanced reader copy.

This was such an interesting concept for a novel, I just struggled with the execution. I went into the story relatively blind, which made some aspects a bit unexpected. The first 150 pages or so were incredibly slow to me. After that, though, the story seemed to really get interesting and engaging.

Since I went in blind, I was expecting Fran to be an actual serial killer and possibly good at killing. She is not. Honestly, it felt very real life to how your average person might go about it. Her motivation for killing for a large portion of the book didn't make sense until we were waist deep in the book, and more details were revealed. We needed those details sooner to help connect us to Fran.

Gareth's character arc was everything, honestly. It was my favorite part of the book watching as he changed and grew. I could have used another epilogue after the end of the book to see what the fallout was after the ending.

It was an interesting read and fascinating concept that I absolutely adore. The execution just fell flat for me, but other readers might not mind so much. Gareth's character development made the read so much more worthwhile.

H. J. Garbett’s My Wife, The Serial Killer is a deliciously dark and wickedly funny novel that blends domestic drama with murder mystery, all wrapped in a razor-sharp sense of humor. From the very first line the tone is set: we’re in for a twisted ride where morality is murky, love is complicated, and the line between right and wrong is delightfully blurred.

At the heart of the novel is the Donoghue couple — Fran, oddly serene after committing murder, and Gareth, a detective whose instincts are screaming that something is very, very wrong. His neighbour’s disappearance is just the beginning. As the layers of their relationship peel back, we’re drawn into a clever, unpredictable story where nothing — and no one — is quite what they seem.

What makes this book stand out is its voice: biting, bold, and brilliantly paced. Garbett skewers the mundanity of suburban life with a sharp wit, all while weaving in real tension and emotional stakes. It's a story about marriage just as much as it is about murder — and perhaps, suggests Garbett, the two aren’t so far apart after all.

Perfect for fans of dark comedies like How to Kill Your Family and Killing Eve, My Wife, The Serial Killer offers a gripping, laugh-out-loud mystery with a final twist that will leave readers reeling — much like poor Gareth.

As the book's blurp starts: "Fran Donoghue has just killed her neighbour. Don’t worry, you’ll agree, he deserved it." I really enjoyed how this statement slowly unraveled. Because despite the dual POV, we end up being just as clueless as Gareth until slowly each piece falls into place.

This story made me question multiple things: Would I kill for revenge? Could I turn in the love of my life if they ended up being a psychotic killer (even though Fran will tell you repeatedly that she is of course not psychotic)? And how DO you best get a blood and milk mixture out of the carpet?

Fran has it all under control. Until she doesn't. The way we simultaneously see how well equipped she is and then small mistakes start creeping up, gave me a real sense of urgency. It was hard to put this book down. First and foremost, because it was simply very well written. But then just as much because I could feel the anxiety coursing through our MCs. Towards the end, I was honestly not sure anymore they would get out of this mess. But look at Gareth coming through in the end: I won't go into detail, but what a way to end this ordeal! I am still not sure if I am impressed by how this was wrapped up while leaving Gareth's morals somewhat intact (Or not? Schrödinger and his cat are calling^^) or if H.J. Garbett and I need to have a word about this whole Clark situation.

Overall: I might have been looking for a simple quick read, but I ended up with a comedic thriller that gave me equal unease and joy, and both of those in spades. Definitely a binge-worthy read for everyone who at some point has asked themselves how to get away with murder even though they are secretly a good two shoes ;)

4 very solid stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a fun read! While I wish there was more murder from Fran, the story moved along well enough that it was a quick and easy read.

Thank you to the publishers for a chance to read this book.

The idea behind this book was SO interesting; a detective husband with a serial killer wife. Obviously they are set up for the inevitable of game of cat and mouse.

I really felt for the characters, and loved how emotional they made everything feel. The motives, the end game… it was all extremely believable and that made it such a fun read

OMG, book besties, as a total crime junkie who *lives* for dark humor, *My Wife, the Serial Killer* by H.J. Garbett absolutely blew me away! This book reminds me of *House MD*’s snarky brilliance, *Dept Q*’s gritty crime vibes, and, weirdly, *The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy*—maybe because of the wickedly funny humor that had me laughing out loud. Picture this: Fran Donoghue, a social worker with a dark past, secretly kills her shady neighbor, Gordon O’Neill, to settle an old score. Meanwhile, her poor husband, Gareth, a hardworking blue-collar cop, is trying to crack the case while their marriage crumbles over baby struggles and hidden truths. How do you live with a killer at home when you’re a detective? The dark humor I adored kept me grinning, and the wild crime twists fed my crime obsession, keeping my heart racing. This book’s blend of gritty suspense, hilarious moments, and emotional rollercoaster of Fran and Gareth’s love is unforgettable—perfect for anyone who, like me, loves crime and really enjoyed the dark humor!

I DNF'd this book.. I loved the premise of this book the wife of a cop is a serial killer. I believe the story has potential, but the way it was written was just not for me.

This is a quirky story about the wife of a cop who murders her neighbor but covers it up and denies doing it. The characters are interesting but I found them unbelievable. I know others saw humor in and there were definitely funny moments. It is well written and I think for the right audience it will be very well recipe.