The New Wife is the story of Finn, a young man who has had a strange and abusive childhood. He travels to Mallorca to meet his late father’s third wife and to establish ownership of the property she lives in. It all becomes very complicated as he prolongs his stay and falls in love with the stepmother’s daughter.

I enjoyed the setting and the plot and very quickly couldn’t put this one down. The characters are complex and there are many hints of deception and betrayal. I found the last few chapters a bit confusing and I’m not actually sure what the outcome was for everyone but I’m guessing that this is a deliberate ploy by the author.

My thanks to the author, to Netgalley and to the publisher for the chance to read the book and review it.

This book had me hooked, all the way until the last 20 pages. Unfortunately, the ending really disappointed me and impacted my rating of this book. Until those last few pages, this was a 4 star read for me. Although I didn’t particularly like the characters, the storyline kept me interested enough to want to keep reading about them and I wanted to know what happened next. I was intrigued to see how this book was going to end, but it just ended up feeling very unrealistic. I would still recommend this one because it was a good book, and I will still be reading future books from JP Delaney.

Darkly bleak, thrilling, and completely gripping - JP Delaney never fails to entertain, and The New Wife is a fantastic example of that

This was a pacy, gripping, tense + captivating thriller that I flew through. The twists kept me engrossed and the writing style was brilliant. It kept me guessing till the end!

Thank you Netgalley + the publisher for my ARC!

JP Delaney does it again, by writing another gripping thriller which keeps you turning the page way after bedtime! This one keeps you guessing throughout who can be trusted, and exactly what is going on here? Beautifully setting the scene in Mallorca, with his normal atmospheric writing. Nearing the end becomes more frantic and we are left grasping for answers, so not quite as...complete, as normal, but still enjoyable

Thank you Quercus Books and Netgalley.
Having read all of JP Delaney's books I was really looking forward to this one.
I felt it was very slow to start, but when I got into it about 60% of the way through it was a really great thriller - before then a bit too "romance" for me.
There was some good twists but these came very late on.
I was a little disappointed as all the other books by this author have been amazing.
For me it fell a little flat hence the 3 stars.

Finn and his sister Jess had a troubled childhood in Mallorca. Their father was a drunk and abusive so they moved back to the UK when their parents divorced. So they weren’t at all sad when they received the news that their father had died. They find that they are now the owners of his dilapidated farmhouse in the mountains. Their father had recently remarried and his new wife Ruensa and her daughter Rosa are still living in it. Finn decides that he will travel to Mallorca and try to persuade them to leave. But things are not what they seem. The police think his father’s death is suspicious and Finn begins to wonder if Ruensa knows more than she is letting on. The story gets more complicated as Finn becomes infatuated with Rosa and decides he wants to stay and renovate the farmhouse with them. But are Rusensa and Rosa manipulating him? This book is full of secrets and deceit with plenty of twists and turns. An enjoyable read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

A solid read from j p Delaney. Followed Finns life as he tried to uncover the mystery of his father’s death and the true story behind roze. Thanks for the opportunity to read

What a thrilling ride! This one just had me double guessing myself throughout. J. P Delaney never fails to weave a great story and this one has some unreliable narrators steering us. I found myself frustrated and annoyed with the male protagonist at times for being so naive. When a father dies, his estate is left to his two children from his first marriage, but his current wife and her daughter are in situ and things get complicated very quickly. The big twist at the end just gave me chills. A great story. #thenewwife #jpdelaney #netgalley

Sun soaking sizzling hot murder! The atmosphere is thunderous and I feel like I was on the vacation from hell.

Argh, I'm so torn, I honestly feel dreadful only giving 2 stars but I have to. I'm torn because JP Delaney is one of my all-time favourite authors. Every book of his has been a 5 star read so to be so bored by one of his books that the thought of cleaning the bathroom seemed more inspiring really pains me.

I really struggled with this one, it felt like pages and pages of nothingness for me, and then it redeemed itself at the 80% mark, only to then dive off a cliff of absolute insanity.

I feel the need to apologise for my negative review and I promise I still love all of his other books and will continue to read any future books, this one just wasn't for me :(

This feels like a really tricky book to review. In the one hand I think the idea is good but I think it could have been executed much better. The pace was incredibly slow and until about 65% I didn’t even feel like I was reading a thriller. It felt more like a wet romance with a mmc with a saviour complex
There were some twists but they were very late in the game.
I was tempted more than once to dnf. I’m glad I did finish and I think if you could get everyone to finish it, it would make a good book club choice.

The New Wife by J P Delaney was a great read. As a person who loves Mallorca loved how this was based there, Finn alongside his sister Jess find out their father has died in Mallorca so Finn travels there to sort out the inheritance. Things do not work out smoothly. Just when you think you’ve worked out what is happening JP throws in another twist to keep you ending.

1.5 stars

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC. I’ve got all of J.P. Delaney’s books but haven’t read any of them yet so I was glad to receive this one.

This is a mystery/thriller following Finn whose father has just passed away leaving his third wife and her daughter behind on his sprawling estate in Mallorca. The estate has been left to Finn and his sister and so Finn is given the task of claiming their inheritance A.K.A booting the wife and daughter out so that he and his sister can sell the place and claim the money. When he gets there however it becomes increasingly obvious that something isn’t right and that ousting his stepmother and stepsister out isn’t going to be as straightforward as originally planned.

I would compare this book to a car accident. You don’t want to keep reading but you can’t help but carry on because you want to see how much worse it can possibly get. Just to give you a little taste of what to expect from this book, the main character Finn repeatedly lies to his sister, even tells her that LEGALLY she has to send over £40,000 despite their lawyer saying the opposite all because he doesn’t want to affect his chances of getting with his stepsister. Yes you read that correctly, his stepsister. I actually wished for his downfall because his decisions were so ridiculous

Finn also wasn’t very likeable as a character. He’s very selfish at every turn, even his gifts and support to Roze and Ruensa are performative and to make himself look and feel better. He’s also an absolute creep to be honest and just weirdly over the top. I almost lost it when Roze told him something personal from her past and he replied with “if anyone can mend you I think it’s me”. Just no. The way he talks about the incidents from her past is also absolutely disgusting. I will admit the twist was pretty good in my opinion so it gets an extra half star but that was the only redeemable quality.

I could rant on and on about this book to be honest but I’m going to stop there. I want to be clear that I have nothing against the author (just Finn) and I will still definitely check out his other work. If you want to read about an unlikeable character making one awful and impulsive/embarrassing decision after another then pick this up (it was released on 20th July so apologies for not getting to this ARC sooner). If not, give it a miss.

A slow-burn psychological mystery. Finn returns to his childhood home in Mallorca to claim his inheritance when his estranged father dies. But his new wife and daughter are still living there. When questions are raised about his death, competing truths will have you asking who to believe.

I had really mixed feelings with this one, it was a slow starter and felt like it took a while for the story to really get going but once it did it was a real ride. I liked the the twist and although I don’t usually like ending that leave you having to make up your own mind about what happens I thought it really worked for this one.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this arc.

4 Stars from me

For me, The New Wife is the perfect holiday read - whether that is poolside somewhere hot or curled up by the fire in a winter cabin - it offers an exotic departure from reality as Finn travels to the Mediterranean mountains to reclaim his childhood home.

Maybe his sister Jess should have gone instead as she makes it clear should would be going there to evict their father's latest beau and her daughter a message which Finn assures her he is more than capable of delivering.

But Finn is soon intoxicated with the improvements that his Father's late wife and her daughter Roze have made to the run-down farmhouse and soon finds himself wrapped up in their story and the life they have made for themselves on the island.

As the story unravels it soon becomes clear that it is impossible to know whose narrative is reliable and which version of events are true. There are many revelations and before long Finn needs to decide where his loyalties lie and deal with the consequences...

Overall this is a fab psychological thriller with a wonderful blend of mystery and intrigue.

I love this authors books. However this isn’t one of the best, it’s very confusing in parts and I’m not sure the author knew how to finish the book. But don’t be put off because other books by this author are excellent

I tried to get into this book a few times - and by that I actually mean about 7 or 8 times and I couldn’t. In theory, it sounds like it’s going to be my kind of book, but I just couldn’t connect with it.

I’m so sorry! DNF for me, my second of the year.

Ooh this hooked me right in.

I enjoyed the premise and the relationship between the siblings, the differences helping to move the book forward.

Satisfying read.