There were twists I didn't get because I found the audiobook a little hard to follow, but what drew me in was the characters. From the first scene, I was making judgments about people and wanting to know their motivations and secrets.
The pacing was good and kept my interest, and I enjoyed where it ended up overall. The narrator was good and made the story more tense.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review

Martha is looking for a new start and thinks the small town of Whitney Fall is the perfect place. No one knows her so she can be whoever she wants here. When she meets Mary, the local pastor's wife, she feels she has found a true friend and connection. Martha becomes a regular at the church and the couple welcomes them into their home with open arms. But as time goes on, the happy couple seems to have secrets of their own they are hiding. Everyone else thinks the pastor and his wife are saints, but Martha thinks they might be the worse kind of sinners.

This book was hard to follow. The timeline jumps all over and plot twists come out of nowhere. At just under 400 pages, the story drags the build up and then things happen so quickly, it doesn't make sense. The story was just kind of illogical and underdeveloped in my opinion. The narration was well done and I did finish it to see where it went, but wished I hadn't spent the time on it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the audiobook for review.

The Pastor’s Wife by LynDee Walker is a spine-tingling psychological thriller that masterfully blends small-town charm with creeping dread. Narrated with chilling nuance by Stephanie Cannon and Patricia Rodriguez, this story pulls you into the unsettling world of Whitney Falls, where secrets fester behind manicured lawns and Sunday smiles. The narrator’s keen observations slowly peel back the polished surface of the pastor and his seemingly perfect wife, revealing a web of manipulation, control, and sinister intent. With taut pacing and a constant undercurrent of unease, Walker builds suspense to a fever pitch, delivering twist after twist until the jaw-dropping reveal.

📖 Bookish Thoughts
This was a solid 3.5-star psychological thriller that took church gossip and small-town secrets to a seriously dark place. Some of the side characters were downright cringe and a few twists felt predictable, but the ending wrapped things up nicely!!

The audiobook was definitely a highlight. Both narrators delivered great performances that helped carry the slower pacing. If the tension had picked up earlier, this could’ve easily been a 4-star read.

Still, I enjoyed it overall!

🗣️ What to Expect:
• Church drama
• Dual POV
• Small Town Setting
• Gossip turned dark

📖 Final Score: 3.5 stars
🎧 Audio Score: 4 stars
🎙️ Narration Style: Dual

📅 Pub Date: June 16, 2025
Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy. All thoughts are my own.

I loved this! It had the perfect amount of tension, drama, and twists. Martha moves to a small town, running away from her past and befriends the Pastor's wife, Mary. Desperate to feel normal and have friends, Martha does what she can to keep her friendship, but things are never as they seem. She suspects the Pastor of dubious activity, and drama ensues.
I was pleasantly surprised with the ending and the twists, really enjoyed this book.

This was a fast paced thriller! The narrator was perfect. It has just the right amount of twist turns and secrets! I loved the characters and the theme. Great read!

There are 2 narrators on the audio book edition and they thoroughly brought this book alive. The opening was strong and my hopes were high.

Some of the events were a bit “ eyes heading to look at the ceiling” and some things were just wound up too conveniently which didn’t do the initial powerful start to the book justice .

Would I read another book by this author yes, as for me the strong beginning was so strong hooking me in I can see such potential there. Plus there were some exciting jaw dropping moments that made me eager to keep listening well into the late evening.


For me
1 powerful start
2 some jaw dropping moments
3. Different topic/ theme than a lot of other books

Audio book was very impressive

Not for me
1 some Convienient strings tied in
2 some unbelievable moments

On the whole, I did enjoy it

The Pastor’s Wife by LynDee Walker is one of those books that pulls you in slowly, then refuses to let go. What starts off as a small-town redemption story quickly twists into something darker and much more disturbing. Martha, a woman running from her past, is taken in by the seemingly perfect Pastor Tim and his wife Mary. But the more time she spends in Whitney Falls, the more she realizes something is deeply wrong behind the smiles and sermons.

I loved how the story unfolded—creeping tension, well-placed flashbacks, and two very different but equally compelling narrators. Mary’s chapters, in particular, were heartbreaking and unsettling. The way Walker captured the pressure of keeping up appearances while hiding a dangerous truth was masterfully done.

There are a few pacing dips around the middle, and the ending came on a bit fast, but honestly? The twists were so wild and unexpected I didn’t mind. This book got under my skin in the best way, and I’m still thinking about that final scene.

Highly recommend for fans of domestic thrillers with a psychological edge. Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC—I’ll definitely be reading more from LynDee Walker.

This was a really fun, twisty read. The two main characters are both really interesting women, and they are both well written, without falling into stereotypes that often come with southern clergy. The ending was completely unexpected!

I listened to the audio version, and was impressed by both narrators. Their accents provided strong contrast between the two characters, which helped a lot in following the dual perspectives of the story.

ALC REVIEW:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Martha” is running from a dark past. After stumbling upon the small town of Whitney Falls, she decides the community is the perfect place to hide in plain sight. Unfortunately, being a mysterious, young woman has raised some concerns amongst a few town locals. So when the young, new pastor and his gorgeous wife take an interest in her, she jumps at the chance to become apart of their inner circle. While working as the church’s secretary and living in the pastor’s garage apartment has been an answer to prayer, it has also made her privy to questionable behavior. After gathering several damning pieces of evidence, Martha” must decide if she will use her discoveries against the people who took her in, or aid them in covering up their lies.

The Pastor’s Wife by LynDee Walker is a MUST read if you are in the market for a mind blowing experience. In fact, it should come with a warning to buckle up as the plot is filled with so many twists and turns, readers are bound to get some degree of whiplash. But it doesn’t end there. This story is filled with so many jaw dropping moments even the most well read psychological thriller fan will be thinking about what they read long after finishing the book.

Despite reading the brief description that accompanies the book, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. For this reason I am struggling to give an accurate rating and review. This book delivers on ALL fronts, but the disturbing content was difficult for me to stomach. I would highly recommend those thinking of picking this book up to research content warning. I don’t want to list them here, as many of them play a huge role in the plot and would spoil the story.

A shining light of this audiobook was the narration. Being a dual POV, told from both “Martha” and Mary (the pastor’s wife) perspective, both narrators did a wonderful job. Hats off to the talented Stephanie Cannon and Patricia Rodriguez for their voice acting skills.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture Audio, and LynDee Walker for allowing me to listen to this book in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | A Twisty, Southern-Gothic Slow Burn
The Pastor’s Wife by LynDee Walker is a quietly explosive psychological thriller that explores the hidden dangers behind small-town smiles, religious facades, and long-buried secrets. Told from two alternating perspectives—Mary, the seemingly perfect pastor’s wife, and Martha, a young woman struggling to survive—it unravels slowly at first, but the payoff is well worth the wait.

From the first chapter, Walker paints Whitney Falls as a picture-perfect Southern town, but something dark simmers beneath the surface. As Mary and Martha's worlds begin to collide, so do their secrets. The tension builds in layers, and just when you think you know where the story is headed, it takes a sharp, surprising turn. The final third is particularly strong—fast-paced, emotional, and full of gasp-worthy reveals.

While the pacing drags slightly in the middle, and some readers may find it hard to fully connect with the characters early on, Walker rewards patience with a tightly woven and satisfying conclusion. Themes of guilt, judgment, trauma, and redemption are handled with sensitivity and nuance.
If you enjoy domestic suspense with rich atmosphere and morally complex characters, The Pastor’s Wife is a compelling and memorable read.
Recommended for fans of:
    •    Gillian Flynn
    •    Stacy Willingham
    •    Psychological thrillers with Southern Gothic undertones

I was truly hoping for a gripping, mysterious read when I picked up The Pastor’s Wife by LynDee Walker, but unfortunately, it fell incredibly short of expectations. Despite the promising premise, this book didn’t live up to its potential in any meaningful way, and I found myself increasingly disappointed as I trudged through it.

First off, I expected a thriller or mystery, something that would keep me on the edge of my seat. Instead, I was met with a slow-moving, lackluster narrative that didn’t seem to know what it wanted to be. The "thrills" were few and far between, and the so-called "mystery" was neither compelling nor intriguing. In fact, I found myself bored more often than not. The characters, particularly the pastor's wife, lacked depth and didn’t evoke any kind of emotional engagement. I never felt a connection to any of them, and that made it difficult to care about the story's outcome.

The pacing was another issue—there were long stretches where nothing of significance happened, and I kept pushing through, hoping for some kind of payoff. Sadly, it never arrived. By the time I reached the end, I was just eager to be done with it. There wasn’t anything special about the plot or the writing; it felt formulaic, uninspired, and forgettable.

The Pastor’s Wife simply didn’t deliver. It’s a book that fell flat, not one I’d recommend to anyone looking for a gripping read.

Review of The Pastor’s Wife by LynDee Walker

LynDee Walker’s The Pastor’s Wife is a tense, slow-burn psychological thriller set in a picture-perfect southern town that hides sinister secrets. With dual perspectives and alternating timelines, the narrative builds steadily to a jaw-dropping finale.

The Pastor’s Wife delivers a thrilling mix of small-town fiction, domestic drama, and psychological suspense. If you’re into dual-POV narratives that build slowly and explode in the end, this one will keep you riveted—especially if you enjoy a southern gothic twist.

This was a great mystery with lots of twists and turns. It kept me guessing until close to the end. The flashbacks at the beginning were a little hard to follow at first but it all came together so well.

3.5* rounded up... This was definitely a wild ride! I always enjoy a good little domestic thriller, and if you do as well this will certainly check the box for you. I went in with certain expectations based on the premise and the title, but what I got was quite different. There were some unexpected twists and most assuredly an ending I didn't see coming. I wasn't left rooting for any particular character, but drop your preconceived notions at the door before getting into this one! The narration was done well also, depicting all characters and genders with ease.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture (I'm always listening or reading any of their books I can get my hands on!) for this ARL. All opinions are mine.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook.
Martha, a young girl who has recently arrived in Whitney Falls is trying to stay unnoticed and quietly working in the local market
Then there’s Mary the pastor’s wife Martha believes she has the perfect life. She’s beautiful. She’s married to the handsome pastor she’s smart and she’s intelligent.

Mary suspects her husband has been cheating and thinks that the young Martha may be his mistress she’s determined to get to know Martha better and so has a plan to be friend her.

Meanwhile, Martha is lonely and desperate for a friend and when Mary takes her under her wing, she feels like she finally has a chance after a horrific childhood.

This audiobook is told from both Martha and Mary‘s perspectives over the course of the period from when Martha and Tim first arrive in Whitney Falls until the following January. Over the course of that year Martha discovers things are not all they seem and Mary may not have the perfect life she first thought.

This audiobook was read by Stephanie Cannon and Pat Rodriguez who did perfect portrayal of both Mary and Martha

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to this title

This book had a slow start. It was pretty good in the middle and the end. It had a few twists that I didn’t see coming. It still moved more slowly that I like.

This was an engaging read that kept me listening—I was eager to uncover what was really going on in this wild little town. The mystery pulled me in early on, and I was genuinely curious to see how everything would unfold.

That said, the storyline felt a bit drawn out at times and could have benefited from a quicker pace. Given Martha’s background—trained by her father and shaped by a troubled past—I expected her to connect the dots a bit sooner.

Small Spoiler: In addition I wish Charlotte could’ve been saved and Martha would have connected the dots with the Little Rock Detective.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this!

I really enjoyed this book! I can honestly say that at no point I knew what was about to happen, and I love that.

The Pastor's Wife was a twisty, gripping read that dove deep into betrayal, secrets, and the deep desire to blend in, At its core, it is a story about the tangled bonds of friendship and how far people will go to protect their truth - or hide them.

The plot kept me guessing , with plenty of layered secrets unraveling after every turn of the page. One major miss for me though? the pastor's voice in the narration. He's supposed to be this younger, attractive, magnetic figure in the town, but the voice he had sounded like a creepy 70-year-old man, and it just made the story fall a bit flat for me. I couldn't picture him the way that the story wanted me to so i feel like it hindered some major moments for me.

Still, despite the awkward audio of the pastor, the book pulled through with strong emotional tension, satisfying twists, and a haunting atmosphere of a small religious town. If you like your thrillers dark and secret laced, this one is worth picking up.

This book did have some dark themes that could be triggering so I would add trigger warnings to this as well. Thank you NetGalley, LynDee Walker, and Bookouture Audio for this Advanced Listeners Copy!