I really need to be more judicious with my choice of books. These days, I have taken to randomly selecting books from the library based purely on the book blurb, and the results have been mixed at best. Sure, there are the occasional wins, such as Midnight at Malabar House, but most of the thrillers have been run of the mill, and The Second Wife has been similarly disappointing.
About The Second Wife
When Alex met Natalie, she changed his life. After the tragic death of his first wife, which left him a single parent to his teenage daughter Jade, he was desperate to leave the pain of his past behind.
But his newfound happiness is shattered when the family home is gutted by fire, and his loyalties are unexpectedly tested. Jade insists she saw a man in the house on the night of the fire; Natalie denies any knowledge of such an intruder.
One of them must be lying, but Alex is faced with an impossible choice: to believe his wife or his daughter. As Natalie’s story unravels, Alex realizes that his wife has a past he had no idea about, a past that might yet catch up with her.
~ Synopsis from goodreads
My Review
I am a little relieved that this book wasn’t a love triangle or and tussle between the first and second wives. It’s a genuine thriller and quite unexpected in many ways.
Both Alex and Natalie have alternating viewpoints, and technically, this should reduce the suspense, but Rebecca Fleet does a good job of maintaining it and keeping both characters slightly unlikable, so you are never too sure who the bad guy is.
That said, the story is lightweight. Once the long flashbacks start, it’s very obvious what’s going on, and that, combined with the pedestrian writing, makes this overall a somewhat dull book.
Not a bad book, but nothing memorable about it – characters, plot, and writing – nothing really surprises.
