I love to enter the mind of a woman pushed to the edge by a man she thought she could trust. Ophelia is like so many others, thrown aside by her lover. She discovers his secret affair, only to have it thrown in her face that she’s the crazy one for figuring it all out. Why stop the crazy there..

It has been a long time since I read a book about a woman who was so unhinged and I adored every moment of it. If no one else is on your side Amber, I am.

SPOILERS.

This book is about Ophelia's revenge on Amber Halloway, the woman who "stole" Ophelia's husband from her. From the beginning we know Ophelia is in prison for the murder of Amber, we get Ophelia's side of the story, she tells us what her prison psychiatrist says, and admits she is a cold, unfeeling person but a person nonetheless, who was promised vows by her husband. First, Ophelia stumbles up on the affair by accident, then she starts tracking Andy, her husband. Andy is mediocre at best and both women could have done much better. Ophelia settled with Andy because he was the only man to really show her love and understand her. Ophelia's mother left her when she was eight and carried that abandonment around with her. So when Andy leaves her, her feelings toward her mother and Andy combine and she starts doing completely irrational things, such as stalking Andy and setting up a stakeout int he house next to Amber's.
While I love a good womens' revenge story, I don't love that it was acted out on the other woman, really she should have just killed Andy and gotten over it. But by the end when Amber is dying from her heart issues, I do wonder what would have happened if Amber wouldn't have had her heart failure, if she was healthy, would Ophelia have killed them? Would she have gotten away with it before the neighbor came over and ruined her plan? I'd give it a 3.5 star.
Ophelia narrates as if she is a homicidal Moira Rose.

I was looking forward to reading this one but don't think it's for me... I liked the writing style in the beginning reminiscent of Sheena Patel's I Am Fan but, as I kept reading, I couldn't focus on the actual story, wasn't very interested in the plot nor the characters and thought it felt like someone had gone through it with a dictionary trying to substitute way too many common words with more embellished ones and that's all I could focus on
Thanks for sending this ARC my way but I won't be sharing a review elsewhere as to not cloud other potential reader's judgements - I'm sure a lot of people will like it, I was just not the right audience for this one

I loved the voice in this book (a less than subtle unreliable narrator) even if I loathed the character. I was a little frustrated with use of repetition and “viz.” at times but also it made sense. I’d have preferred the story to flip between Ophelia’s memoir/letter and official transcript or a report from the hearing and the ending lost me- it seemed to be intended as a crescendo but for me it was too much telling not showing, and the child abandonment issue felt forced. Overall very easy to read and a little different to what I’d normally pick up.

"The Vixen Amber Halloway" offers an intriguing premise centered around a woman's psychological breakdown following her husband's betrayal. Ophelia's descent into madness is portrayed with intensity, evoking empathy from readers. However, the novel's repetitiveness and mismatched genre expectations may leave some readers disappointed. Despite its potential, the story lacks the tension and suspense typical of a thriller, leaning more towards literary fiction. While some may appreciate the exploration of Ophelia's unraveling psyche, others may find the pacing sluggish. Overall, "
"The Vixen Amber Halloway"" may appeal to readers interested in character-driven narratives but falls short of delivering a gripping thriller experience.

This book was interesting. I am a fan of the unhinged trope & this read like a fever dream.
I did find it repetitive. & the ending fell flat in my opinion.
I liked Ophelia. I empathized with her while I was reading but will not think of her again.

The story is a bit intense and crazy.

3 stars because she kills a dog, and it was really sad, if that wasn't in there or described I would say 4 starts.

But wow, this was insane, and honestly, something that I could see on those true crime docu-series, holy moly.

“Happiness has an indefinite aspect. Unhappiness, however, is obdurate. It takes hold of the memory. It eludes forgetfulness.”

For a short book this one packs quite the punch. Ophelia discovered that her husband Andy was having an affair, and he ended up leaving her for his work colleague Amber. Understandably, Ophelia was devastated, but due to her trauma from her childhood she started spiraling. She started following Andy and Amber, writing down all their activities in notebooks, sitting in her car outside of their bungalow with her $49.99 binoculars. And when she discovered that Andy and Amber had gotten engaged during a holiday, she snapped.


I truly enjoyed this book, reading from the perspective of an unhinged, scorned wife was addicting. I could not stop reading. I will say though some parts felt so repetitive, like the mention of her mother. I understand it plays a big part of Ophelia’s psyche, and why her husband leaving her brought back this past trauma. But it just felt like there were so many times where it was brought up where it wasn’t necessary. Overall I enjoyed my time with this book and I look forward to reading more from Carol LaHines.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGallery for an advanced copy of this book. The Vixen Amber Halloway is about the psychological breakdown of a woman when her husband leaves her for another woman. Based on the cheeky title, cover, and premise, I was interested in reading it. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it as I hoped. The novel seemed to struggle with some pacing. It was slow and dragged in some parts, and I agree with the other reviews that this didn't have the tension and suspense that would categorize it as a general mystery/thriller. The readers already know what will happen because of the different time changes and flashbacks. General fiction may be a better fit. That said, I think there will be readers who aren't avid mystery readers who will enjoy this.

I really enjoyed this tale of a woman's clear descent into madness post-separation from her cheating husband. I very much enjoyed the flowery language, which I felt added a layer of intellect to the character of Ophelia beyond simply someone having a breakdown.

She does come across as an unreliable narrator, which seems appropriate for someone suffering a mental health crisis.

My only issue is that this proof really needs a good going over by an editor due to quite a lot of errors that didn't seem to be part of the unreliable narrator's monologue.

This read was a solid, consistent ride throughout. Though it lacked twist and turns, the cool, lyrical way in which the first-person narrative gave insight into the mind of the criminal protagonist provided a steady build up to the climax and denouement.
Personally, I appreciated the amount of back story and character history. I don't think it's always an easy feat to make a villain come off as deserving of sympathy, but that was the case for me towards the protagonist. The jilted lover/scorned woman trope was not beat to death, thanks to the bits of her psyche and history that were revealed throughout and the struggles that she faced in the aftermath of each of her poignant losses were described in poignant detail.
The abrupt shifts between past and present was a bit jarring at first but not insurmountable or detrimental to the enjoyment of the reading experience, in my opinion.
As a fan of alternative perspectives, this was a great read that didn't take as much effort to enjoy as your typical thriller. Overall, a nuanced and intellectual novel.

Here we go again: another book that is being mismarketed. To sell this book as "mystery/thriller" is quite a mistake.
This is a work of literary fiction with a slight touch of mystery.
Personally, I love lit. fiction, but I love mystery/thriller more. Moreover, I'm done being made a fool. This wasn't the first or second or third or fourth or fifth...(and so on) time I picked up a mystery/thriller novel and it turned out to be just a literary fiction, or even another genre desguised as mystery.
I also didn't particularly fancy this author's writing style and, for such a short book, it drags a lot.
Not for me. And that's alright. Other readers might enjoy this.
Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC.

I just reviewed The Vixen Amber Halloway by Carol LaHines. I loved the plot but the pacing was slow.
#TheVixenAmberHalloway #NetGalley

if you're expecting a thriller, i would say this is more literary fiction with a splash of thriller - which is more my jam.

i love themes of obsession and this satisfied that itch. there are valid comments about it being repetitive, but so is obsession so i feel like that was sort of the point.

a quick-paced read that was entertaining until the end. thank you for the eARC!

The Vixen Amber Halloway was an interesting read. I really enjoyed it and will recommend to my readers who enjoy women's psychological fiction. Ophelia was a very complicated MC, which I appreciated.

I really liked the premise of this book but unfortunately felt like it was lacking. It became very repetitive and the overuse of the words espied, viz. and to whit made me start skim reading. I don't think I would class this as a thriller but more literary fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Thank you for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel.

I requested a copy as I found the premise to be very interesting. The Vixen paints a picture of a woman scorned and then details the events that lead to her downfall. Ophelia is very unhinged following the discovery of her husband’s infidelity and she lets her situation get the best of her. She becomes a woman undone.

The story was very repetitive and I honestly did not want to finish reading it. For commitment purposes, I did and I have to say I was disappointed as I felt it was lacking the potential I felt it had. I also think this was more of a fiction novel and not a thriller as advertised.

The concept of this was really good and was what made me eager to pick it up. But I wasn’t a lover of the writing. A lot of repetition, however it does coincide with the theme of obsession. The book did drag on a bit at some parts. Overall, I still liked it and would read more from this author. Thanks so much for the ARC!

what drew me to this book was first, the cover (very pretty might i add), but the synopsis really sweetened the deal. i love unhinged women, i love reading about their inner introspection, and most of all, i especially love when they’re just a tad bit unreliable. ophelia is every single thing i love to read in a story like this: the jilted ex lover unable to let go, plummeting from the best of the best— a college professor, even— to the worst of the worst we see on the news.

ophelia is an interesting character to me. at first glance, her romance with andy seems picture perfect. they get married, go on a honeymoon, their sex life is great— everything is fine. but there are cracks, when you dig deeper into the story. through the interwoven past and present, bits and pieces of her story are unravelled until we finally culminate in one triumphant moment of her trial, and the understanding of how she was made into this jaded, obsessive woman. she’s a little unreliable in that she has an inherent bias for her own view. andy, in her eyes, is the villain. amber, the seductive harlot. herself, the innocent, martyred wife drawn and quartered by the public eye in light of her crimes.

ophelia is such an unreliable narrator because she skews things often very obviously to her perspective, but yet we have no indication of what’s an exaggeration of her own mind or what’s true. i flip flopped between feeling bad for andy & amber and almost being convinced that they were the villains— not that a story like this has villains, because everyone has at least some fault in this (except my sweet mallory). that’s the brilliance of reading from the perspective of someone so convinced of their own justification. you don’t know what’s real and what’s not, which brings us to my next point:

the non linear narrative. i quite liked it- something about cutting back and forth between the past and present, the downfall and ophelia’s decedent of madness feels right to me, because i can see very easily how ophelia’s mental state wasn’t just the result of a mental break overnight, but a slow moving, irreversible avalanche of abandonment issues catalysed by andy’s infidelity. her headspace is very twisted place to be, but these psychiatrist appointments give us a reason why she turned out this way.

my minor gripe with this book: the writing. i don’t know if this was for any particular reason, but ophelia’s voice seems a little.. cold to me? she expresses herself fine, but something about it feels a little impersonal. it’s not an ideal style for me to have in a book centering on obsessive love and jealousy- i’d expect to feel passion and rage from the writing than anything. ophelia sounds almost detached, clinically so, which i feel doesn’t quite fit the tone of the book. (it sounds a little research paper-y, maybe because of her job.) even though the book isn’t boring, the style makes it a little less easier to get through.

overall, though, this was a fun and quick read! thank you again for the arc <3