This was the first book I've read from this author and I enjoyed it very much. It was very well written and the characters were well thought out.

I really enjoyed this book. It was hooking, gripping and everything that a psychological thriller should be. I cannot wait for the next book by this author.

Samantha/Sam falls for Dennis Danson a murderer currently on Death Row. She leaves her simple life in the U.K to visit Dennis after corresponding with him by letters sent back and forth.
Samantha marries Dennis but when he is released will Samantha feel the same?

Absolutely stunning book! I really enjoyed this and get like it kept me interested throughout the whole book. Definitely worth a read.

I wont lie, I was sucked in based on the dysfunctional idea of someone wanting a relationship with a murderer. Samantha didn't know Dennis before he was imprisoned for the murder of a young girl, so what makes her so sure he is Innocent?

Samantha and Dennis fall "in love" via letters and visits, and Dennis began to be portrayed as what someone, somewhere (on another planet) might refer to as a doting boyfriend, I know Samantha seemed to think so. She was obsessed with him in every way possible and wanted to do all she could to get him released.

I think Amy Lloyd executed her idea behind this book perfectly. She tricked me into thinking I wanted the pair to be happy and I began wanting what Samantha wanted. The sexual tension between Samantha and Dennis was uncomfortably addicting to read, and without even thinking, I was beginning to hope Dennis was released so that they could be 'happy' together, yet any other time, I would be disgusted by the thought of it.

I also thought it was really well written which was part of the reason I flew through it so quickly.

I do have to admit that even though I found myself feeling sorry for Samantha, I still felt she was completely deluded and came across pretty self obsessed. Her family were clearly extremely worried about her and the situation she had placed herself into but she gave no thought to them whatsoever.

Unfortunately I have a love/hate relationship with the ending of this book. I absolutely loved the final twist to the story but hated how it was executed. I know this sounds contradictory but I cant say anymore without giving anything away. The book in general was a bit of a slow burner until everything seemed to explode and wrap up in the last 20 pages.

5 stars

Brilliant! Thought provoking! Scary!

Samantha (Sam), a thirty-one-year-old teacher in Bristol, is full of self-doubt, longing for someone to whom she can devote her life. Caring for them, loving them. This love had been rejected by Mark who had dumped her because of her insecurity and jealousy.

Mark had introduced her to an online forum trying to prove the innocence of Dennis Danson, currently on death row. He had been found guilty of murdering Holly Michaels. There had been other girls who had disappeared from the region, their bodies never discovered. Dennis was thought to have murdered them, but without bodies, charges couldn’t be brought against him.

Sam and Dennis start corresponding, sharing their innermost thoughts and feelings. Falling in love. Dennis asks her to come to America to be closer to him and help him in the battle to prove his innocence. They meet, Dennis with chains around his ankles and hands and a bullet proof piece of glass between them. This doesn’t deter Sam and she joins the team who are making a documentary that will hopefully prove Dennis’ innocence. Somehow, thanks to all the people in the forum who had worked tirelessly for the past twenty years of Dennis’ incarceration, his case is re-opened, and he is declared innocent. Innocent? A miscarriage of justice?

Dennis is a celebrity, invited on all the chat shows and in the meantime, Sam is trying to come to terms to being married to this complex man who went away a teenager and has emerged into the world twenty years later where technology helps information spread instantly.

Amy Lloyd has created a monster of a book. Sam, the insecure girl, desperate for love and stability. Dennis, a charming handsome ex-con, who wants his freedom and retribution for being locked up for a crime he did not commit. Carrie, the enthusiastic filmmaker, who has spent years together with Patrick, the director, making documentaries and trying to find the truth about Holly Michaels’ horrific murder and Lindsay, from Dennis’ hometown, who shares a strange secretive history with Dennis.

There is one last thing I need to share about this book. Did I like it? Empathise with the characters? No, not really. Do I think this whole thing is simply a figment of the author’s imagination? Absolutely not. This is a real story with a lot of truth in it.

Treebeard

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

How can you know if someone is truly innocent? You love a man on death row who you are convinced is a victim of a miscarriage of justice. But what happens when you succeed and free him and have forever together and the doubts start to creep in and maybe things aren't as crystal clear as they were before. This is that tale.

This was a quick read, I found it hard to put down, the idea of having a connection with a man on death row had me intrigued and kept me reading.

There were some parts of this story that I struggled to believe and had me cringing,however not enough to make me stop reading. I found myself reading this in hours as I wanted to find out what would happen to each of the characters.. I did not find any of the characters likeable however I still wanted to find out what happened and how the story ended. A good, quick read.

A very good book, seeing it from how someone marries someone on death row and believes them. It is like a brainwashing. However will he get out, will he be there for you? Great book.

. . . . .

The lines between true crime and fiction blur in the first book by Amy Lloyd, winner of the Daily Mail bestseller competition. Inspired in part by Amy's fascination with shows like Making a Murderer, this gripping psychological suspense novel is hugely compelling and impossible to put down.

I am currently working on expanding our school library's senior section after years of a dismal and uninspiring selection of books that our older readers never checked out. My job has been to seek out much more diverse, gripping and modern books that will get them into reading by appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible. This really appealed to me because of its fantastic narrative and sense of atmosphere, combined with believable characterisation and its page-turning nature. It's hard to get young people into reading and if the library is not stocking the kind of book that they might grow up to buy as adult readers then we are not really meeting their needs. I can imagine this provoking lots of discussion after finishing it and a long queue of people trying to reserve it as they've heard so much about it. Will definitely be buying a copy and know that it's going to be a very popular choice. An engrossing read that kept me up far too late to finish reading it. It certainly stood out from the other books that I was considering and I look forward to converting more Amy Lloyd fans in future!

I was really drawn to the premise of this novel -Samantha begins writing to a prisoner on death row and as they exchange letters she feels herself falling in love with him. She goes to America to join the campaign to free him as she, and others, believe he’s innocent. The first half of the book is better than the second for me because it felt much more believable; the second half, and in particular the ending, felt a bit rushed. Having said that I found I couldn’t put the book down at any point because I simply had to know what was going to happen!

I really enjoyed...if that's the right word...this book. I though the character of Samantha was believable as she succumbs to a fantasy relationship with Dennis who is on death row.
When the relationship becomes reality, I felt torn between feeling sorry for Dennis and gradually feeling more and more convinced he was hiding a horrible secret.

In todays society we seem to have a huge interest in true crime, and documentaries like The Making of a Murderer are increasingly popular.  Amy Lloyd takes this idea and makes it the centre of her debut novel The Innocent Wife.  Dennis Danson has spent eighteen years in prison for a murder he didn't commit.  He has been at the centre of a Netflix documentary and a book, all looking at how unsafe his conviction is. Into this story comes Samantha, she has seen these documentaries and believes Dennis to be innocent of his crime.  A correspondence quickly sees her move to America and marry Dennis whilst he is still on Death Row, but his conviction gets over turned and their relationship takes on a new dimension.

This is a very interesting concept, and certainly had me gripped from the beginning.  The reader is a voyeur on Sam and Dennis's life now he is out of prison.  Suddenly they are famous, interviewed on television shows, in the newspapers, plastered across social media and given book deals.  The social media aspect was really interesting, celebrities tweeting about freeing Dennis and influencing their followers, people making judgements on Dennis and Sam, trolling them.  It certainly demonstrates the impact social media can have, it can make or break someone, cause hurt and pleasure depending on the tweet and famous people can make a huge difference to the opinion of the masses. When Dennis was convicted there was no internet or social media, so he has to learn and its fair to say makes a few mistakes, not use to people attacking him directly.

I found most of the characters in this book to be flawed with some psychological issues. Most of us would be worried about Sam travelling half way around the world to meet and marry an inmate on death row.  This maybe explained by her low self esteem, a need to be loved, jealous and always seeking validation. Through the book we find more about Sam and the dramatic end to her last relationship. Dennis obviously has a huge adjustment to make, the world has changed in twenty years and he has to learn how live in todays society.  His abusive childhood and twenty years incarcerated take a toll on his mental health, so together with Sam, their relationship is strained, they don't know each other and didn't expect to be thrown together so quickly.  I found I could feel their tension, their unease and suspicion of each other throughout the book, and I have to say it made me feel uncomfortable and on edge in a good way. Supporting characters like Lindsay, Dennis childhood friend and Police Officer Harries also seem to have agendas and lives that have more answers the questions; slightly crazy comes to mind.

As a thriller The Innocent Wife is a huge success.  It is a slow burner, the tension building throughout and it feels you are waiting for something to happen, but you don't know what.  The sense of unease and menace that kept me on the edge of my seat and I literally couldn't put the book down.  Even if someone is cleared of a crime there is always a scent of suspicion that follows them around, they are never really free of the crime, and it is this and the dynamic of Sam and Dennis's relationship that keeps you gripped. A fabulous concept that makes a nail-biting and suspenseful read, simply brilliant.

Absolutely gripping and brilliantly written. If you enjoy the Serial podcast or Making a Murderer on Netflix then you will completely love this. I’m always amazed at women who fall in love with prisoners, this helps you feel empathy for a very lonely, very complicated woman. Recommend!

Another book that I was sent via Netgalley, and frankly this is one I spent most of my time eye-rolling through.

Dennis Danson is in prison in Florida for the murder of a young girl, but he's also the subject of a true-crime documentary that believes he has been wrongly convicted. In England, Samantha is obsessed with his case, and the two build up a relationship through the letters they exchange. In fact, Samantha even travels to the US where they marry while he is still imprisoned. But then all the campaigning for Dennis' release is successful: he is free, and Samantha realises she is married to a man she doesn't know - or trust...

I am a big fan of true crime, and I can clearly see the influence of Making A Murderer and the Serial podcast on this book. I really wanted to like this; the premise seemed so intriguing. But this book just ended up annoying me, to be honest.

Samantha is naive to the point it irritated me. I understand that the character was meant to be a lonely woman - hence her attraction to the 'misunderstood murderer' - but I just don't believe any grown woman would be such a wet blanket all the time. I found myself exasperated by the one-dimensional actions of Dennis, who was written as if he was a cartoon villain. Like, yes, we get it - is he all he seems??? But there was just no subtlety to any of it - less psychological thriller, more smashing-your-face-in with 'clues'.

Also, I found the ending of this just ridiculous. Next to nothing of real importance happens for ages, and then the last few chapters contain the most unrealistic, unbelievable story. I was glad to be finished with it. Only gave this two stars as for some reason I still wanted to know what happened.

Decent thriller, read it in three sittings.
Thanks to publishers and NetGalley for opportunity to read in return for unbiased review.
Has the potential to be made into a film in my opinion.
An author worth watching.

This book was such a fantastic read, it had me hooked from the start! It had everything a good suspense thriller needs! I was at the edge of my seat after every chapter!
The writing was fantastic, very descriptive writing but easy to read. I literally could not leave it alone, wanting to find out what happened, and something seemed to happen on nearly every page. Cannot recommend this book highly enough.

When a debut novel wins a prize pre-publication, it sets my expectations high. Happily, Amy Lloyd’s The Innocent Wife doesn’t disappoint and justifies all the attention.

If you’ve ever wondered what kind of person writes to, let alone marries, a convicted murderer, then Amy Lloyd offers up a credible contender in Samantha. It’s easy to trace and accept how this clearly not stupid, grown woman is drawn in by Dennis and his campaign.

Sam comes with her own issues, sometimes being too weak and reactive, or jealous and needy, and her own skeletons (though they’re only figurative compared to Dennis’ real ones). And in giving her these, Amy Lloyd ensures we see her as a real person and possibly not as wholly innocent as the title suggests.

Things start innocently enough though, when Sam’s introduced to the world of true-crime documentaries by her then boyfriend and they watch one about Dennis. It’s what follows, through Sam’s need to know more about his case and how this escalates, which makes The Innocent Wife such compulsive reading.

It’s one thing marrying a prisoner, it’s another entirely when they’re released and you find yourself having to find a way of living together and making a marriage work. Sam doesn’t appear to have given much thought to what would happen if Dennis’ campaign succeeded. And then suddenly there’s no perspex separating them, no relationship conducted by correspondence, no media circus or documentary team following them around anymore. It’s just two people who don’t know each other very well.

Sam needs to adjust when her former safe fantasy suddenly become her new reality, and Dennis needs to catch up with smartphones, message boards and everything else that’s happened since he went behind bars, while coping with his new-found freedom. Dennis’ reaction to white privilege stood out for me here, and also how all the forums and social media used so effectively to campaign on his behalf simply weren’t there when he was convicted. While with Sam it’s watching her adjust to her new life in the States, getting to know her husband, while beginning to question if the right thing’s been done in releasing him.

Amy Lloyd’s clearly poured her own love of true crime into her debut novel. The Innocent Wife worked exceptionally well for me: I confess I may have become a little obsessed with it and kept wanting to google Dennis’ case, before having to remind myself that it wasn’t real. The hallmark of a great book.

The Innocent Wife is a compelling read and one of this year’s standout thrillers. Highly recommended.