My Lovely Wife – Samantha Downing

Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams, and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored.

We look like a normal couple. We're your neighbors, the parents of your kid's friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with.

We all have secrets to keeping a marriage alive.

Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.

This book grabbed me with its description and Dexter comparison but it did stand on its own and was an original story. There were some pieces that I was able to pick out that should have been twists, but I was still okay with that! I think a lot of thriller readers will be able to spot things like that coming and see where the story is going, but there’s also still enough in the book that you just don’t know how it will end.

I actually really liked that this was from the husband’s point-of-view. It was just interesting in the way that the story was told and I liked that creepiness coming from Millicent instead of … him. I just realized that I don’t think his real name is ever used throughout the whole book, only aliases, which is a stunning fact that I never realized. This has actually happened to me before with a different book and now I’m questioning everything I just read. How does one read a whole book and not know the narrator’s name? AUTHORS, YOU’VE DONE IT AGAIN.

Anyway, there’s a whole lot going on in this book and it really is incredibly interesting. Even though the husband is the protagonist, it doesn’t mean he’s a hero. He’s still guilty of committing murder with his wife, even if we think she’s the colder, more heinous of the two throughout the book. By the end of the book, I was rooting for him, but should I have been? He still wanted to murder but the way things play out, you almost forget about all of that and want him to stay clear of danger and prison. It’s a really interesting back-and-forth that just really makes you constantly question the motives of each character.

Kept Me Hooked On: A good “if you liked” comparison. I actually am glad that this one was compared to Dexter because it was definitely a draw for me! It was still unique enough that it didn’t feel like it was too similar to Dexter but it was also similar enough to recognize the appeal for Dexter fans and to be a solid rec.
Left Me Wanting More: Details? Dare I ask for more details in a murder book? I didn’t necessarily want to know ALL the gruesome details of what was going on but there were times when I was hoping for just a bit more to guide my feelings.

Addiction Rating
Read it

I really enjoyed this one! I do agree with the Dexter rec and I had a fun time reading (or listening to) this one and seeing where it would take me!