Unfortunately, this one didn’t work for me.

The premise sounded intriguing, but the first third of the book was very slow and lacked the momentum or tension needed to pull me in. I found myself struggling to stay engaged, and by the time things picked up, I had already lost interest in the characters and their arcs.

I do appreciate the attempt at a layered narrative with emotional stakes, but the pacing and execution just didn’t land for me. Might work better for readers who enjoy slower-burning, introspective suspense — but this wasn’t a good match for my taste.

This book was wild, so much going on, so much twist and turns, so much drama, and chaos and the ending was absolutely not what I expected! I knew things that were happening were bad, but not that bad. No spoilers 😊 i was gripped, I really liked Martha, everyone underestimated her, and who she really is. As for Mary & Tim, just wow, the worst of the worst. It shows that the most evil humans hide in plain sight. Recommended read. 5star ⭐️😊

This was an entertaining book to say the least. Was it the best no, a lot of the twists were eye rolling and just fell flat. There were a lot of things that just seemed off and missing for me in this book to make it that much better.

HAPPY #PUBDAY @lyndeewalkerbooks 🎉🎉

The Pastor’s Wife ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was fun! Maybe I’m not as good at guessing plot twists as I’d like to think, but I definitely didn’t predict everything that went down in this one. ESP the first one— I gasped! You’ll know when you get to it. 😉 This book has small town vibes, dark secrets, and complex women with hidden pasts. The audiobook narrators were great and definitely helped hook me from the start. The ending felt a little unfinished and left me wanting a little more, but overall, a quick and enjoyable read, and a fun/different kind of thriller!

Thank you to @netgalley and @bookouture for this advanced audio copy! 💕

#netgalley #netgalleyreads #netgalleyreviewer #netgalleyreview #thepastorswife #booknerd #bookstagram #audiobookstagram #audiobookreview #audiobooklover

Martha is new in town, running from her past, and just barely getting by.

That is until she meets Mary, the local pastor’s wife.

Mary seems to take Martha under her wing. The next thing the young woman knows, she’s gone from living in a dump of a motel to staying in a beautiful room attached to Pastor Tim’s house and from working at the local grocery to being the pastor’s church secretary.

But even though Mary has been more than gracious and giving, Martha starts to think that the pastor isn’t just doing the Lord’s work.

He seems to have a wandering eye, and something isn’t quite right about the big checks coming into the church. Then, people start to disappear. And Mary comes to Martha in need of unexpected help.

I thought The Pastor’s Wife by LynDee Walker was going to be a bubble gum thriller, an in some ways it was, but it also addressed some deep, disturbing issues.

Overall, it was an ok read. It had a lot of moving parts and was a bit unrealistic at times. I gave it three stars.

This is my first LynDee Walker book and I was NOT disappointed! I have added her other books to my TBR. THE PASTOR’S WIFE is well-written and it kept me hooked from the very first page! It is truly a must-read (or listen). The narration and production of the audiobook was very well done, too!

2.5 stars rounded up.

This book started off super fun! I loved the narration, the jumping timelines, and dual narrators with different POVs. The southern accents in the audio book made it a fun listen. The book started off great and got me hooked but about halfway through it felt a little lost. Once it started to come together in the end, it just got a little messy for me and there were lots of loose ends and I felt like shock value was added just for that and maybe didn’t need to added in?

All in all, it was a fun listen but I wish the author went another direction with the ending.

Thank you so much to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the audio book arc!

In The Pastor’s Wife, Mary and her husband Tim, and soon after, Martha, become the newest residents of Whitney Falls. Tim, the new pastor, and Mary have moved from town-to-town with a mysterious past. Martha is leaving her own past behind and trying to remain as inconspicuous as she can. But the day Mary and Martha’s lives collide, they quickly become best friends. Mary helps improve Martha’s situation, and the more time Martha spends with the pastor and Mary, she observes something isn’t right or as perfect as they want to be perceived.

Wonderfully voice narrated in dual POVs by Stephanie Cannon and Pat Rodriquez. It’s very character-driven with plenty of secrets and lies that kept me wondering and guessing! Oh My Bejeezus, I could not have imagined the sinister things that were taking place in Whitney Falls.

There’s no coincidence the two MFC names, Mary and Martha, are symbolic of Mary and Martha in the Bible!

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the audio narration. This is my honest review.

First of all, I would like to thank Netgalley, LynDee Walker and Hachette UK - Bookouture for making this audiobook available for review. It was truly a pleasure, I hope the release is a success and I'm already looking forward to the next ones!

With the voices of Stephanie Cannon as Martha and Patricia Rodriguez as Mary, The Pastor's Wife takes us to a small town, where Martha ends up falling in love with Mary, the kind and perfect wife of Pastor Tim.

In the first chapters, it is clear that there is something wrong going on in the lives of both, even though each one does her best to hide it from the other residents of the town (or at least tries).
Martha had no plans to make friends, in fact she preferred to go unnoticed, but the care and kindness that Mary showed her after an accident made her give in and over time she even ended up going to church and the couple's house more often and enthusiastically. We also have Mary's POV, where we can see how she deals with her emotions and how she modulates her actions in a well-thought-out way.
It was with these POVs that the book won me over, I imagined the book taking another direction, until I began to understand how Mary's mind worked.

Since it is an audiobook, it is also essential to take the narration into consideration.
The voices were pleasant to listen to and the diction was very good.
They knew how to apply emotion at the necessary moments, without exaggeration, which contributes to the immersion in the story.
I heard an accent that reminded me of Texas (or some other very similar one, I'm sorry, English is not my native language so I still have some difficulties in that sense). At first I thought it would make it difficult to listen, but on the contrary, it was super easy to listen to and this touch only made it even more interesting.

This book was very suspenseful. The secrets unfolded slowly but they were def crazy secrets! I loved the narration and the characters were misleading which kept the story interesting. ⛪️

This is a classic of what's on the surface or what we show to the world isn't what's really going on.
The Pastor's wife is a thriller filled with some twists you see coming and others you don't.

Like all thrillers I will not give anything away but read between the lies.

Thank You NetGally for this Audio Arc in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Martha finds Whitney Falls while running from her past. All she wants is a place to call home and make a friend. She becomes close to the Pastor’s wife and thinks she needs to protect her new friend from her husband. The things she begins to discover makes her question everything.

This is a highly engaging top quality quick listen. Told from dual pov mainly this makes you question the idea of perfection and can your eyes see the truth hiding in plain site. The narration was spot on and the characters were well developed. Then plot was full of twists and turns the one towards the end are a tad predictable which did make me chuckle but did make me feel disappointed as there was such a good build up to the reveal and ending and then it was over quickly and predictable. However that is the only thing that lets this story down. I love the way the story line and character interactions are dripped into and just when you think youve got it all a curve ball appears. I cant recommend this enough full of strong women and a somewhat predictable story this perfect for readers and listeners who enjoy multiple pov and slow burners. Be warned you might be sad its over too soon. Thank you netgallery, publisher, author and narrator for this 5 star (rounded up) listen.

This was a decent mystery with an interesting premise and a solid small-town setting. The pacing was a bit uneven at times, and while some twists worked, others felt a little predictable. Still, the story held my interest, and I appreciated the emotional layers behind the main character's journey.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

3.5 ⭐️| What perfect names for the 2 FMCs with this book title. Mary & Martha’s story intertwined in ways that readers will certainly enjoy, as the twists were revealed & the plot unfolded.

Mary & Tim have recently moved to Whitney Falls, as Tim is the new pastor of a church in the area. Soon comes Martha, also new in town with a somewhat checkered past that she is trying to escape. However, Mary soon realizes that this power couple she has grown to admire is also very secretive about their past. Suspicions grow, loyalties are tested & secrets are revealed.

I absolutely loved the dual narration & individual first person POVs from Mary & Martha. Both narrators did a phenomenal job bringing life to these characters. I enjoyed the writing style, there were just a couple of incidents in the book that I would have liked a little more content on, or maybe an epilogue that concluded these questions. Overall, It was an enjoyable story that fans of domestic thriller could enjoy & worth the read! Thank you Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Publication 🗓️ : 06.16.25

Wow!! ……that outcome wasn’t what I expected! I really liked how it was written- detailed, descriptive passages paint vivid pictures/scenes. There’s a variety of characters- some likeable, some much less likeable and others that are just plain despicable. The story jumps back and forth a bit but it’s easily followed. The intrigue slowly develops and then the twists start twisting.
This was my first read by Lynden Walker. I really appreciate her style of writing- her command of language and use of literary tools. I’m looking forward to enjoying other titles penned by her.
-Great audiobook choice! I very much enjoyed the flow of the narration, done by Stephanie Cannon, Patricia Rodrigu. It’s well paced, clear, easy to listen, and the voice portrayals are consistent. (4.5/5)
Thank You to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to thoroughly enjoy the audiobook version of this ARC.

I really enjoyed this audiobook a lot! It grabbed my attention from the beginning and the twists and turns kept me guessing the whole time. I listened to this book at 2.5x speed and I didn't have any issues with the narrators. I thought they did a great job and I felt like I was in the south with them! I felt like the characters were likable and unlikeable when appropriate. I really enjoyed the small town feel this book had. Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the ARC.

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


The Pastor’s Wife is a twisty, emotional mystery with layers of small-town secrets, complicated relationships, and a seriously compelling lead. Lyndee Walker really knows how to build suspense while still giving you characters that feel real messy, relatable, and full of secrets. I was hooked on the plot and genuinely didn’t see the full picture until the end.

BUT… the narrator didn’t quite do it for me. Something about the tone and delivery made it harder to get pulled in emotionally. I ended up switching to the ebook halfway through.Way better reading it myself. ( so sorry)The tension and pacing landed stronger, and the characters felt more distinct on the page.

4.5 stars for the story itself, which is layered and well-written with a satisfying payoff. Just maybe skip the audio version if you’re picky about narration..


✨ Thankyou bookouture for this copy❤️


❤️shaye.readss

This is a fun audio book. I listened to it in one day. Lots of twists that kept me interested. If you love fast paced thrillers, give this one a try.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The pastor wife, holy crap! What a roller coaster of a ride book. Take one perfect looking couple, one small southern snobby town and mix in a young woman on the run. No one is ever what they seem This is a psychological book that have you what will happen