I got offered a reading copy of this audiobook in an exchange for an honest review via NetGalley.

I will be honest, this book feels a bit confusing at times to read as an audiobook due to the alternating in perspective and the way the chapters are formatted, the added in recipes as well add in a bit confusion in light of the flow of the novel that I felt didn't really work for me. In terms of the plot of this book, it felt a bit predictable at one point. There were so many angles that the author had formatted to be a possible ending, that it became quite apparant what the actual ending was going to be. I feel like this book tried to lure me in with a horror premise but sort of failed to deliver on those grounds, which I found unfortunate. Some of the characters in this book are also quite insufferable and I wonder why some characters didn't just straight up get a divorce. Sometimes it *is* the easiest answer.

I was sad to not like it, because it sounded very interesting. But alas.

The Dead Husbands Club by Ivana Hruba – Short Review

This darkly comic novel follows Caroline, stuck in a violent marriage, and Lucinda, a recently widowed housewife with a taste for reinvention. When Lucinda offers an unconventional solution to Caroline’s problem, the two women embark on a wild journey of escape, empowerment, and unexpected enterprise. Blending outrageous humour with sharp emotional insight, the story celebrates friendship, resilience, and the art of starting over. Bold, irreverent, and full of bite.

I absolutely loved this so much that I read the whole book in one day … Gripping , exciting, full of suspense… lots of twists and turns along the way… The best book I have read in a long, long time . Loved it

I really enjoyed listening to this one, Lauryn Allman did a brilliant job with the narration. The voice she gave to Maria Capello was perfect, it really added to the mystery and intrigue which surrounded her character.

When Thea is asked to edit the much anticipated memoir from celebrity chef Maria Capello, it feels like a dream come true. She hopes to find out what really happened the night Damien Capello went missing and what is the special ingredient in Maria’s famous meatballs?

I really liked the format of ‘a book in a book’. The excerpts of Maria’s memoir were a clever way to manipulate the story and add intrigue. I loved the inclusion of the recipes, which were filled with double meanings and dark humour.

The tension and intrigue slowly build as Thea starts to uncover the secrets surrounding the Capello family, I had no idea which way it was going to go. When it reaches boiling point the twists and turns come in thick and fast and I couldn’t stop listening.

It’s a thriller with a seasoning of horror. I normally shy away from horror but the inclusion here was relevant to the story and wasn’t overdone. This was my first book by Danielle Valentine and I will definitely be reading more.

Readers are kept turning the pages of Danielle Valentine's gripping thriller. The book's detailed descriptions of mouthwatering dishes and step-by-step cooking directions will keep readers hungry for the majority of it. But, you'll find out at the end! Loved the narrator, made me love the story even more. Glad I came across this audiobook, and got a chance to review it!!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the UK publishers for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love the book within a book trope and this one really delivered on that. Coupled with not knowing which version of the truth can be trusted until the very end, it was a double win for me in that regard.

I felt like Maria was real and I was invested in her narrative. Although I found the ending a tad confusing and like there was maybe one too many reveals and twists, the main threads of the story did still come together well. If it had been even more explosive earlier on, it could have been 5 stars.

4.5 ⭐️ Thanks so much to NetGalley for the advanced listeners copy of this book!

This book was so compelling, I just did not want to stop reading! It was such a wild ride, and every time I thought I had figured out what was going on there’d be another twist! I was becoming just as paranoid as Thea.

This was the first book I’ve read by Danielle Valentine, but now I definitely want to check out her other work. It was also the first book I’ve listened to by this narrator, and they did such a good job bringing the story to life and maintaining the creepy atmosphere in the text!

Thank you Netgalley Profile Books Audio | Viper and Danielle Valentine for the Arc of The Dead Husbands Cookbook.
Narrated by Lauryn Allman

Who can resist a psychological thriller with a culinary edge?! The Dead Husbands Cookbook is a dark story of Maria Capello, a household name, books, shows and even restaurants. sighting her recipes in which has a " secret " ingredient. Many think is something simple. However, some people thing its parts of her dead Husband. What I love about this book ( and others who have adopted this trope) is the insertion of recipes throughout the narrative. I haven't tried any as yet but it makes for a mouthwatering addition to the other all feel of the storyline.

After years of silence, Maria selects her biggest fan, Thea Wood to tell her story of how she met her Husband, famous chef Damien Capello and what went on in their marriage,. Thea, just wants to know what the special ingredient is. I really enjoyed the narrative as a whole, told from Marias POV mainly from the past with interaction from Thea in the present. But it's no love story, some of the recollections are dark, disturbing and claustrophobic. Even at the end, your still left wondering and I loved that.

4 stars

The beginning chapters of this book did not much grip my interest, and by the time it really got going I had a pretty good idea of how it would end, although there was a surprise small twist at the end. The audiobook was well narrated, and suited me best with the speed increased to 1.25.

The title gave me chills and the story not quite what I was expecting but so engaging . The narration was of high quality with clear distinction between characters and was full of emotion on delivery.. It had me hooked from the cover to the last word. I have to say the usage of recipies between chapters made me feel so hungry especially all that description. Im still not 100% sure this was fully resolved at the end but I really like that. The way of the novel being given to the book editor one chapter at a time so past and nowt as well as pov made this so engaging, the tray of breadcrumbs and twists and turns had me binge listening to find out the truth about the mystery. I especially like the way the past of thea and the writer were touch upon. Have to say the final twists did blow me away. This is a story that comes with a health warning. Thea felt this was her last chance at being a some one and solving an old mystery but she discovered sometimes a story just isn't worth it. Loved the characters could easily see this as a film. A really great 5 star listen for me. Thanks netgallery, publisher and author and narrator.

It's like if Martha Stewart or Ina Garten was maybe a cannibal, but not really? If you've read a lot of thrillers, this isn't necessarily going to offer you anything new. It didn't for me. In fact, I felt a bit let down by the ending of it all. The twists were interesting and it certainly led me on a red herring lined path to get to the conclusion, but I felt a little cheated by the end. I also felt that the final act ran on for far too long with little actual investigation and a lot of speculation as part of Thea's internal monologue. And have we not done the 'exhausted mother solves a murder because having children will ruin your life' trope to death by this point?

It was perfectly fine, but not nearly as sharp or as cutting as I hoped.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved how the story wove recipes and mouthwatering food descriptions throughout the narrative. Everything sounded so delicious… until I remembered the title of the book. That contrast created a brilliant push-and-pull effect—one moment I was craving pasta, the next I was slightly nauseated.

The audiobook was such a treat. The narrator’s delivery perfectly captured the atmosphere and made the story incredibly engaging from start to finish.

I think I went in expecting a little more gore and perhaps a stronger lean into cannibalistic plot lines, but even without that, it was an entertaining, sharp-edged thriller. Deliciously fun—with just the right sprinkle of unease.

4 stars ✨

this was really good! but lowkey i wanted more haunting cannibalism and more murder details.

i really loved how twisty this book was, i was genuinely so engulfed into this story to find out what was going on with this weird family.

this was genuinely really enjoyable and satisfying to read.

i highly recommend this book if you’re looking for something unsettling yet weirdly enjoyable.

if you’re an audiobook enjoyer, you’ll love this, Lauryn Allman did such an amazing job bringing this twisted tale to life.

4.5 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2025/08/11/review-the-dead-husband-cookbook-by-danielle-valentine/
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Twisted, unreliable and totally delicious

I loved The Dead Husband Cookbook, it was addictive. The set up, the writing, the mystery, the twist, the characters, it hooked me and held me in its sway until the last morsel was devoured. It took me in unexpected directions and it is definitely a book that I would love to read again (for the recipes especially) and frankly I think it would make a fantastic adaptation – I would watch it for sure.

As the story begins we meet Thea Woods, an editor for Hanes House publishing, she’s worked there a number of years and her career was on a satisfying trajectory until she made a major error in judgement and everything she’d worked to achieve came crashing down round around her. As we make Thea’s acquaintance she’s been called into the office for a meeting with her (once friend) boss and she hopes to hand in her notice before she’s officially ‘let go’. As it turns out it seems that Thea is about to receive a lifeline. Hanes has been chosen to publish the much sought after novel by Maria Capello (more below) and this is conditional upon Thea editing her story.

So, Maria is both famous and infamous. She has cookbooks and tv shows firmly under her belt, not to mention a range of sauces that people can’t get enough of. At the same time her very successful husband disappeared many years ago – was it suicide or did Maria murder her husband and turn him into meatballs? Speculation has run amok for years and so everyone is waiting, eagerly, for this new book in which she has promised to ‘tell all’.

Now, Thea’s reprieve doesn’t come without strings. She needs to spend time at Maria’s home, leaving her young daughter and husband at home, she needs to turn in her mobile, because Maria is paranoid about leaks and she is only given one chapter at a time to read – which, combined with the poor wifi at the remote family farmhouse – is going to make turning this submission in by the deadline very difficult.

Straight away Thea is drawn in by Maria’s story, written well and in many ways similar to Thea’s own family life, she is totally absorbed by the read. At the same time she is shocked when she discovers that another guest at the house during this time is someone who was fundamental in her own downfall.

I really enjoyed this read. It’s written well. Thea isn’t above doing some investigating (snooping) and often takes chances that gave me the heebies. She’s under pressure both from work and in her homelife and is desperate to make this opportunity work out.

As the tension mounts Thea’s imagination runs riot – and, to be fair, with good reason. All the family are secretive and Maria’s children are definitely not happy about this most recent development which threatens to expose the family even more.

This is a contemporary novel but the remote setting and Maria’s paranoia and Thea’s imagination all feed into the tension really well.

And, of course, the format of the story is great as we have Thea narrating the story plus the written chapters provided by Maria all concluded with delicious sounding recipes with very amusing titles.

On top of this – who can you actually trust? Well, you’ll have to read this to find out because wild horses couldn’t drag spoilers out of me. There’s more going on here than originally meets the eye and the author drew me down the garden path into a totally wrong feeling of knowing what was going on – which I appreciate totally.

A twisted family story and a mystery with two women both desperate to succeed.

I listened to an audio version which I heartily recommend.

I received an audio copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

The Dead Husband‘s Cookbook by Danielle Valentine, I read the Kindle version and listen to the audiobook narrated by Lauren Allman who I thought did a pretty good job. Danielle Valentine has recently became a go to Author for me and I really enjoy her books but this one although I was looking forward to it and it had lots of twists and turns I would have to say it was only OK but in the best way possible. everyone wants to know why such a famous personality with a sought after story would go to an editor who barely survived a recent scandal Theo Baker. famous cook Maria Capello came into her own after her husband Damien went missing, he would later be found a victim of suicide and only then did Maria become famous. thanks to rumors about her and the death of her husband her infamy only grew and now at an elderly age everyone wants to publish her story but the task is given to Theo under strict guidelines. One of those guidelines is that Theo stay at her farm while editing the book and she can only read the contents as it’s given to her by Maria. Theo agrees but has no idea the strange mystery that unbeknownst to her she will soon be a big part of. Not only that but when she arrives she learns Maria son Enzo is dating the woman who caused her horrific scandal in the first place. Put that on top of her strange granddaughter in revelations that are going to shock Theo’s world and some of it has nothing to do with Maria Capello and the story she wants to tell. I was not at all expecting this book to go in the direction it went so to save this book isn’t twisty would be an absolute lie because they’re a twist on top of twist and although I did absolutely enjoyed the book by the time it was over I just felt like it was all too much I mean a lot but I would still recommend it because who doesn’t like a mysterious twisty thriller with revelations that no one can possibly say they saw coming. #NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #DanielleValentine, #TheDeadHusband’sCookbook,

The Dead Husband Cookbook had me on the edge of my seat throughout.

Publishing editor Thea has previously let slip and leaked some scandalous information and rumours whilst drunk at a party, and has cost her company and reputation off the back of it.

Enter Maria Capello, TV Chef starlet, and as a side note, possible husband murderer and cannibal, if the 30 year old rumours are to be believed, after the suspicious suicide of her husband Damien.

Wanting Thea to edit her memoir, telling the whole story of what happened that fateful night, a scoop any publishing house, and editor, would kill for, so the story had the mystery from the beginning of why trust blacklisted Thea with such a juicy job?

What follows is a very twisty tale of betrayal and distrust, all separated with recipes to try at home

Lauryn Allman‘s performance was spellbinding, with her portrayal of the many characters handled here with distinct attitudes and voicing.

Maria Capello is a celebrity chef, TV personality and household name. Thrust into the spotlight 20 years ago after her Chef husband, Damien Capello's mysterious disappearance, you'd be lucky to find a home without one of Maria's cookbooks or frozen shop bought sauces amongst its belongings. For the past 20 years, Maria has never spoken publicly about her husbands case, and rumours include keeping him locked up and serving parts of him in her food, adding his blood to dishes and just the plain old - she murdered him.
Thea Woods, a book editor, is one step away from losing her job due to a book leak, until Maria requests her as editor for her new memoir. Why does she want Thea?
As Thea meets Maria at her rustic home and is cut off from the world whilst editing for fear she may again leak a book online, she is thrust into the middle of a murder mystery.

I loved this audiobook, and the narrator, Lauryn Allman was great. The suspense throughout the book kept me hooked, I needed to know why the Capello household were acting so odd! Told in different POVs with a few recipes thrown in for good measure.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a compulsive, atmospheric read. It has just the right balance of thriller/horror for me (more thriller, but all the atmosphere of a horror), like a good Stephen King novel.
Lauryn Allman absolutely killed the narration (no pun intended). Her reading of the recipes at the end of each chapter had me salivating.
Maria kept me guessing throughout, and it wasn’t until the very last pages that I made a choice between liking/disliking her.
Thea finds herself pulled deeper into Maria’s story than she imagined. Her situation means she needs the money and the gravitas (to restore a wrecked reputation) that Maria’s novel will endow, so she has little choice when Maria sets out her conditions. Go along with these rather unusual demands, or lose the deal.
Getting Maria to open up about what really happened the night her husband died is every bit as difficult as Thea anticipated. But if she doesn’t, her editorial career is dead. Much like the pigs that she hears screaming in the slaughterhouse behind the farmhouse each evening.
With just the right touch of menace (Henk and his meat cleaver are ominous), The Dead Husband Cookbook will keep you guessing until the final pages, and might just make you think twice about meatballs.
Five big ones from me, with thanks to NetGalley and Profile Books Audio for the chance to listen to an ARC.
This one published just a couple of days ago - grab a copy, if you dare. And gird your loins; you’re going to need a strong stomach.
Trigger warning: If you’re an animal lover, or a committed vegetarian, this might be one to avoid.

This book had me since the very first page. Its sooo good and I enjoyed like nothing. The characters are so easy to empathize with, I felt everything they felt. And the narration is perfect, the recipes were the cherry on top.

The plot is also very interesting, and although I thought it was predecible, there was a plot twist I didnt see coming. Its so good I felt manipulated.

And well, the ending??? That last sentence was mind blowing.

The only thing that was off was the motiv behind all Maria's actions. It was a bit apresurated

The Dead Husbands Cookbook is an absolutely unhinged (in the best possible way) & refreshingly unique read. I ate it up. The story keeps you guessing right until the end full of twists & turns that had me hooked!
If I’m being picky the final 10% fell a little flat for me. It wrapped up a bit too neatly, which didn’t quite match the wild, unpredictability of the rest of the book. Such a shame because it was on track to be a full five star read for me.

I was lucky enough to receive the audiobook edition & Lauryn Allman’s narration was fantastic. She brought each character to life with distinct voices & a great sense of timing which really elevated the whole experience. I was glued to it from start to finish.

★★★★½ ROUNDED UP ⭐️⬆️