The Wife Before – ARC Book Review

She says your new boyfriend killed his ex. He says it’s all lies. Who do you believe?

When I first met Jack, he broke down in tears as he told me about the tragic death of his wife, Natalia, on a family holiday. As our relationship blossomed and we started planning a future together, I would lie awake worrying about filling Natalia’s perfect shoes. But everything changes when her mother turns up at my door…

‘Your boyfriend killed my daughter,’ she says.

Jack swears she’s lying, and I want to believe him but something isn’t right. Why doesn’t he have a single picture of her? And why do I feel afraid when I confront him about the night Natalia died? What if it wasn’t grief after all, but guilt?

As I stroke my baby bump, I wonder if I can really trust the man I love. If he killed Natalia, could I be next?

Fans of The Housemaid, The Perfect Marriage and The Girl on the Train will be absolutely hooked on this nail-biting psychological thriller. Prepare to be gripped!

Kara is widowed when her husband and her son died in a car accident. She meets Jack and the two fall in love and Kara gets pregnant. Jack’s daughter Evie moves into the house along with Evie’s grandmother, Lina who tells Kara that Jack killed her daughter–meaning he killed his ex-wife. Jack denies ever killing his own wife. Kara isn’t sure whether who to believe or trust–whether she should trust her own husband or Jack’s senile mother-in-law.

The story is fast paced packed with family drama. We have POVs of Kara, Evie, Jack and of course Jemma and Jack’s ex-wife Natalia. We have alternating narrators and throughout this book, except for Kara, we don’t really know who we should actually trust i.e. all of them except Kara are unreliable characters something which is suitable for this type of story. There are some twists and turns though the ending was quiet expected however. In fact, the whole story was quiet enjoyable to read with lots of drama and twists that will keep the reader hooked into the book.

Worth 4 stars.

Many thanks to Netgallet and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.