Great premise, great book, gripping read!


Dennis Danson has been waiting on death row in Florida for twenty years, convicted of the murder of teenager Holly Michaels.

Samantha is disillusioned with herself and with her life in Britain as a schoolteacher.



Dennis claims he is innocent; Samantha believes him.



So begins a tentative written correspondence between the two, a correspondence that grows in intimacy, and powered by the strength of the campaign for his release, results in their marriage while Dennis remains behind bars.



Suddenly however, as new evidence comes to light, the campaign for Dennis’s release becomes a reality, he is pardoned of the murder of Holly Michaels and freed. The couple whose marriage began behind bars and on paper now have to learn about each other all over again in a whole new set of challenging circumstances.



The Innocent Wife is an unsettling read. Told primarily from Sam’s point of view, as the reader, you can positively feel her unease as she begins to live alongside her new husband. Gradually, as his true nature is slowly revealed, Samantha begins to question how innocent Dennis really is, and as his secrets are finally uncovered, begins to fear finally for her own life.



My only complaint really was that the relationship between Samantha and Dennis lacked truth. We were told that they loved each other, we were told that they wanted to be married, but I never really felt it. Perhaps that was deliberate in that the distance between them reflected how little they really knew each other.



Other than that this was a really good read; I could hardly put the book down and powered through it very quickly.



I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Dennis Danson is a convicted killer awaiting the death penalty for the brutal murder of a young girl in Red River, Florida. He has spend 20 years on death row protesting his innocence, has amassed a following of supporters and is the subject of a true life crime documentary a la "Making a Murderer". Here in the UK, Samantha is a young school teacher who follows online forums dedicated to wrongful convictions and becomes infatuated by Dennis and wholeheartedly believes his innocence. Sam begins a correspondence relationship with Dennis and things quickly escalate to Sam travelling to the US to meet Dennis in person and subsequently falling in love and marrying. Dennis's campaign meanwhile is gathering pace with politicians and Hollywood celebrities championing his cause and campaigning for his release which is not long in coming following the introduction of new evidence that deems Dennis' conviction unsafe. And this is where the story picks up pace. With her husband released and ready to begin a new life together, Sam is excited by the future but it is not long before doubts about her husband's innocence are creeping in. In comparison to the first half of the book I would say that the second half is very fast-paced and the ending feels a little rushed and predictable in my opinion but I still enjoyed what was an interesting and fairly quick read. Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this story was very promising. Sam, a British woman, becomes obsessed with Dennis, a prisoner on death row. She marries him, and then he is unexpectedly freed when new evidence is uncovered. But actually living with him is quite different from visiting him in prison, especially as he is coming to terms with the world after many years in prison. Then Sam starts to wonder if he is really innocent. I found that the story didn't live up to its promise, and became quite slow and repetitive at times. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.

I was going on a long train journey so decided with all the media interest in this novel, it was going to be my travelling companion. And it was, in that it’s a total page turner starting at an even pace and hurtling to the end.

Samantha is a British school teacher, single and possibly a little drab becomes fixated on an American inmate, Dennis, after watching a documentary about the case. Think Making a Murder. Samantha joins internet chat rooms discussing Dennis, and begins to write to him.

When she travels to America to visit Dennis, she marries Dennis, gives up her old life in England, and gets caught up in a follow up documentary exploring Dennis’ innocence. Their lives receive a big turnaround when Dennis is released, and eventually they move back to Dennis home town to live.
The book is narrated by Samantha who is a bit of a non-entity as a character, and Dennis is just a jerk. I don’t believe that we find out that much about Sam. She just seems to hover in the background for the most part, apart from the occasional outbursts, that for me didn’t add up. I could not get why Sam did not fleece him and taken the first plane home. I suppose that would have finished the book quicker though which is not really the point!

Take the book on holiday with you, or on a long train journey.

Three stars.

Samantha is introduced to Dennis Danson through a documentary about his conviction for the murder of eleven year old Holly Michaels. She quickly becomes obsessed with him and his innocence, beginning a long distance romance, writing each other letters.

Leaving her old life behind she travels to see him, getting involved with the campaign to free Dennis and the documentary series A Boy From Red River. But when his is released, Sam is not sure that he’s the same man she fell in love with and has secrets. What is he hiding?

Goodness me I’ve had this on my tbr list for so long and I don’t know why I haven’t read it before now! It really gripped me from the first chapter and the need to find out what happened next kept me going back for more.

I really felt for Samantha, she seemed such a lonely and damaged soul. There also a bit of mystery there too, something happened with her ex-boyfriend that she’s utterly ashamed of, which makes her slightly neurotic and a little unstable at times.

The first part of the book is made up of letters between Sam and Dennis, which I kind of thought were sweet, even though he’s on Death Row. Also excepts, from a book called River Runs Red, are weaved cleverly in, which gives you bits of Dennis’ history and the case without seeming like an info dump. Once released they return to Red River, Dennis’ home town and the book takes on a more sinister tone and the tension is really amped up until the end.

My only complaint was I didn’t find the ending that satisfying, I can’t tell you why because that would be a spoiler, but it just didn’t sit quite right with me.

Overall a compelling read and I’d say a must read for any psychological thriller fans out there.

I am such a sucker for a good psychological thriller so I totally jumped at the chance to read The Innocent Wife by Amy Lloyd (published at the end of December) because wow, how many boxes did that blurb tick for me? A Death Row killer, the English schoolteacher who falls in love with him, the Making the Murderer style documentary that leads to his release, the realisation after the fact that maybe he’s not as innocent as he seems. SO MANY BOXES.

This was a book with so much potential and actually I kind of want to preface this review with the statement that I am SO HARD TO PLEASE when it comes to thrillers. I always, quite without meaning to, have the highest expectations and rarely are they met. I just want to say that.

I liked this book though, I did, and I flew through it. It had a lot of what I like – particularly the letters between Dennis (death row) and Samantha (teacher) because GIVE ME ALL THE EPISTOLARY STORIES PLEASE – although, instalove? They were dropping the L-bomb after approx. 2 letters and any frequent reader of this blog will know that’s not my thing. I mean perhaps Dennis you can kind of understand – he’s been in prison his entire adult life and is probably a little love-starved. Samantha though, the speed in which she was prepared to throw her life away for this man who she knows only from a couple of letters and what she’s read on the internet, it terrified me a little, which I think was kind of the point and if so was very well executed. Kudos, Amy Lloyd.
Also, Samantha, come on. Please don’t pack up your whole entire life and move all the way across the world for some dude you’ve written to a handful of times. I would say this was an example of bad choices even if he wasn’t a convicted child killer but LOOK AT THE FORESHADOWING HERE – he’s on DEATH ROW, it’s very likely not going to end well.

The story was solid but the pacing was iffy – some parts felt like they were on fast forward a little, I felt like we spent a little too much time hanging out in hotel rooms after Dennis’s release, with him being a bit of a dick and disappearing and Samantha being a bit lost then rushed through the actual thing that mattered, like everything from the arrival at Dennis’s hometown and once things got moving I figured the whole thing out pretty quickly so for me the ending felt rushed – like I said though, I am really hard to please and actually, the actual ending-ending was satisfying because anything else? Well actually I can’t think of anything else – it kind of had to end the way that it did. I also think that the ending is the weakest part of a lot of thrillers, mostly because the whole rest of the book is all suspense and twists and turns and keeping you gripped and the end is the tying up of the lose ends and it’s hard to keep that momentum going I guess?
I did find it hard to put down, and was itching to get back to it every time I had to go and do the living of my real life which is always the best of signs don’t you think, especially when I don’t think I actually liked any of the characters; I mean, that is a sign of a good story, right? To make me want to keep reading about people who annoy the hell out of me (if anybody else has read this and was as irritated by Samantha as I was then PLEASE LET ME KNOW). Samantha had her own little side mystery going on also, which was neat although the nosy part of me would have liked to have delved deeper into that. I always want MORE, I’m such a glutton for the words. Samantha whilst annoying was also fascinating – such an unreliable narrator which was fab because the whole story is her version of the story, you spend the whole book inside her head and when you’re not sure how much of what she’s saying you can trust, it makes for pretty interesting ride.


TL;DR: this is not the best thriller I have ever read but it’s such a long way from being the worst. It’s a good read, it’s worth picking up and is a pretty solid debut. If Amy writes anything else then probably I’ll read it.

A thoroughly enjoyable and well written book, this veers away from the normal ‘thriller’ that’s so popular at the moment. I would definitely recommend this as it will certainly hold the reader’s attention to the very end.

This is one of the best books I have read in the last 5 years! I was hooked from the start and was sad when it ended. The characters and prose is so well written I actually googled the lead characters name because it felt like the story I was reading was real. I am really looking forward to reading more from this author, I am officially a fan

The blurb:

HOW DO YOU CONFRONT YOUR HUSBAND WHEN YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH?
Twenty years ago, Dennis Danson was arrested and imprisoned for the brutal murder of a young girl in Florida's Red River County. Now he's the subject of a true-crime documentary that's whipping up a frenzy online to uncover the truth and free a man who has been wrongly convicted.
A thousand miles away in England, Samantha is obsessed with Dennis's case. She exchanges letters with him, and is quickly won over by his apparent charm and kindness to her. Soon she has left her old life behind to marry him and campaign for his release.
But when the campaign is successful and Dennis is freed, Sam begins to discover new details that suggest he may not be quite so innocent after all ...
The review:
Honestly... I'm really disappointed. I loved how this book started out, it was really fast paced and the storyline really gripped me... I couldn't wait to find out what happened. Then halfway through it just got a bit weird if I'm honest, things didn't flow as well as they had previously and we didn't get full answers to things, it's almost like the author was rushed to finish up and didn't have as much time to spend on the second half as they did the first half. It's readable and you still get the answers that you want but it just wasn't in the way/style that I was expecting after the highly powered start.
Somewhat clunky and confusing after a brilliant start.

I read the whole book but it was more to see how it ended, I wish I didn't as the ending was confused,somewhat predicted and extremely far fetched. It was obvious from the start that Dennis was guilty and I only read on to see if Sam survived (which she did, with. Baby on the way too) confusingly visiting Dennis in prison! You may think I have ruined the book for you but I've actually done you a favour! Now you won't have to read it

This is a good modern thriller with an unusual plot. Samantha lives in England. One night she watches a documentary about American murderer Dennis Danson who has been in prison for twenty years. There is a strong campaign to free him due to lack of evidence. She begins corresponding with Dennis and they form a relationship. She then leaves her home and job and goes to see Dennis in prison. Swept away by events, Samantha agrees to marry Dennis, they are then married prison. He is eventually released due to another man pleading guilty to the murder Dennis was accused of. Once on the outside Dennis becomes a different person! Samantha doesn't like what she sees, however is she as innocent as she seems? Read on!

Sam believes that the american, Dennis, was innocent of the murder he had been convicted of when just 18. She begins to correspond with him. Eventually she gives up her job and moves to the States. Life isn't the bed of roses she expected when her new husband is released from prison. Following her journey is quite sad, empathy for her character who only wants the best and finds the worst.

From the moment I read the blurb I was immediately reminded of the Netflix documentary Making A Murderer in that a convicted killer is at the centre of a documentary to prove his innocence and quash his death-row conviction. In this instance Dennis was convicted of the murder twenty years ago of a young girl, and suspected of killing other missing girls whose bodies have never been found. Having been the subject of books and a previous documentary, now he's the subject of a new film with renewed support and it's looking likely that an appeal could be possible much to the upset of the families of the missing girls.

I have to admit at first I did think it was a bit far-fetched that our other central character, teacher Sam, was so obsessed with his case via the internet and forums, so much so that she decides to write to him, confesses her love for him and then travel half-way across the world from England to visit him in prison. It's one thing to maybe correspond with a prisoner, but another to give up your job and leave your home behind without knowing what's in store for you in the future. It's a big gamble if the appeal is not a success and how well can you really get to know someone from letters alone.

The relationship between Dennis and Sam was simply bizarre, not just in the circumstances of their meeting and subsequent quick relationship, but also in the way they interacted with each other. It was clear that Sam had been hurt in the past and was desperate to love someone, and for someone to love her back, but Dennis appeared stunted emotionally, maybe because he'd been out of the dating loop all that time, so her affections seemed to be unwelcome most of the time. At many points whilst reading I really wanted to be able to say to Sam to open her eyes and see what was really going on around her for her own sanity.

As I was reading I was swinging one way, then the other, as to whether or not Dennis was innocent or maybe he was guilty after all. It's all in the details that unfolded about Dennis' childhood, his friendships and past events that are expertly woven into the storyline by the author. The more you read, the more you're questioning whether there had been a hidden agenda at play with regards to his conviction but at the same time there's always that niggling doubt...

Overall I did find The Innocent Wife to be an intense read once I put my concerns aside and just go with the flow with regards to everything that was unfolding, although I will confess that there were a few scenes that did turn my stomach with regards to the cruelty that was unfolding or the graphic descriptions I was reading.

Twenty years ago, Dennis Danson was arrested and imprisoned for the brutal murder of a young girl in Florida's Red River County. Now he's the subject of a true-crime documentary that's whipping up a frenzy online to uncover the truth and free a man who has been wrongly convicted.

A thousand miles away in England, Samantha is obsessed with Dennis's case. She exchanges letters with him, and is quickly won over by his apparent charm and kindness to her. Soon she has left her old life behind to marry him and campaign for his release.

But when the campaign is successful and Dennis is freed, Sam begins to discover new details that suggest he may not be quite so innocent after all.....

This was a fantastic debut novel and I will be looking out for this author again. I was hooked more or less from the start and found it an enjoyable, easy read. I had a couple of long bus journeys so it was great to be engrossed in my book and I read it in just a few days.

I was really reminded of real cases such as Making a Murder (especially in the beginning as the story explains Dennis' background, and the fact there was a documentary team trying to uncover the details) as well as news stories I have read about women marrying prisoners.

I gave this book 4.5 stars - the only reason it didn't get 5 stars was because the ending felt a little bit rushed after such a big build up and I was left slightly confused about the roles of each party in the earlier crimes. Having said that. it was not the ending I had predicted at all so I was kept guessing until the end!

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this and will be recommending it to friends and family as an entertaining read.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for giving me an advance copy in return for my honest opinion.

If you've ever wondered what prompts a woman to fall in love with a man on Death Row, then this book goes some way to answering the question. In Samantha's case, she has a pretty dull life as a teacher and is looking to escape after the break-up with her boyfriend. She has anger management issues and it's clear that Dennis not only gives purpose to her life but he's safely behind bars. thanks to the film crew and the efforts of the campaign to free Dennis, Samantha soon finds herself married to a man she barely knows and that's when the problems really begin. I enjoyed the suspense of not knowing if Dennis was guilty or not and whether Sam was in danger. Seeing how the world has moved on following Dennis's release is cleverly done and although the story is fairly predictable, it is well written.

This was a very interesting read and new topic although I believe the concept, of ladies writing to prisoners on death row in the USA, is still rife and popular as ever. I enjoyed the book very much, it was interesting to find that Samantha wasn't as nice or squeaky clean as we may have been led to believe during the early chapters. Whereas Dennis seemed to have turned a corner, becoming a caring, spiritual, health conscious individual upon release, or had he always been that way? The ending was unexpected, I was obviously hoodwinked as well, but a satisfying first novel. .

Firstly thank you to Net Galley and the publisher fir an ARC of this book.
The Innocent Wife is well written. It flows nicely and has good pace. I just wasn't a fan of the story as a whole. The first half of the book was too similar to a Netflix Documentary for my liking - lacked originality. The second half was better but just as the action was ramping up the book suddenly ends. I didn't really connect with the characters either.
Overall a good enough read but I would've preferred more of the 2nd half and less of the 1st.

Interesting and not at all what I had expected. Not a hugely gripping read though for me, I found it easy enough to get along with, but nothing that made me exclaim 'WOW'

For a first novel this book is amazing. The story is absolutely riveting, and you are never sure what is going to happen next. Sam is English, a bored schoolteacher aged 31, who has been dumped by her boyfriend. There is more to that story, but we don't find out till a long way into the book. She becomes fascinated by a story hitting the headlines about a man who has been on death row in America for more than twenty years. Dennis Danson denies that he killed a young girl. He is from a poor background, and had been seriously abused as a child, with an alcoholic father who regularly beat him, and a mother who neglected him; and the people who have rallied round him have found a lot of evidence to prove he did not get a fair trial, probably because of his wretched background.
Sam starts writing to him in prison, and gets lovely letters back from him; and decides to go to America to visit him. They get on well, and she becomes part of his support group, then rashly agrees to marry him, having only spent a few hours talking with him, in prison with thick glass between them. Then evidence turns up that proves he was not the murderer, and he is at last freed.

Sam is at that point overwhelmed, and who wouldn't be? She is married to a man she really doesn't know; and she gets very frustrated and upset because he clearly has little interest in her. Then things start to happen that start to make her feel uncomfortable, and she is not sure that her husband is as innocent as it once seemed. Other girls went missing in his town, and they are still unaccounted for. Many people from the area think that he is responsible.

Amy Lloyd builds up a tense and intriguing story, you are never sure what is going to happen next. The characters are strongly written, none of them particularly likeable, but all of them compelling in different ways. The author conveys a story that feels very real, and the events are quite logical, however I doubt that many people will have worked out the ending much before they actually read it.

An excellent story, well worth reading.

I could have sworn I was reading about a real life situation - a lot of the storyline felt extremely real and fresh, as though I had just been watching a documentary on television about something similar. I hadn't, but that's what it felt like. Take Samantha writing to an inmate and falling in love, for example. Predictable may be, but believe it or not, that type of thing happens a lot more than people realise. Was I able to relate to that part of the book? No! After all, I have never contacted an inmate, nor have I fallen in love with them via their literary skills. For that reason alone, I found Samantha's character (to begin with), a little farfetched. Maybe that was because I couldn't really understand her actions, or maybe it was because I found them to be absolutely bonkers. Either way, Samantha's action and the notion of finding out whether Dennis was innocent or not, made my curiosity soar. Did he murder that girl? What on Earth possessed Samantha to write and fall in love with a man convicted of murder?

Predictable or not, nothing can fault the authors' clever way of pulling in her readers with this sort of storyline.

From the get go, Dennis' character unnerved me - not because of the fact he was convicted of murder, although that didn't really help, but because there was something about the man who made me want to shout out 'SAMANTHA, NO!!!!!'. I had absolutely no idea whether he was innocent or not, but due to the way in which the storyline gets going, readers are pointed down the 'innocent' route. 'The Innocent Wife' has such a complex and dark theme to it, a lot of readers may come up with their own interpretation of certain events. I know I did. Some readers may also find themselves going against the authors' storyline in favour of what they think happened. Amy Lloyd has given readers the opportunity to read between the lines and see parts of the storyline in a completely different way to what she had originally intended - and probably without realising it. Personally, I loved how the bare bones of the story were crafted, yet the in-depth situations were sporadic with information, allowing readers minds to fill the gaps with their subconscious. How clever is that?

The further I got into the book, the more I became hooked on Samantha's situation. My opinion of her did end up changing, but not by much. I couldn't empathise with her a lot due to the choices she voluntarily made (not that I believed she deserved certain things of course), but because it became crystal clear that she hadn't thought about her decision properly and now she was paying the price.

Being totally honest, there were parts of the storyline which made me roll my eyes because of how farfetched it was. However, I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I was going to at the start. I was pleasantly surprised by the dark and psychologically twisted themes throughout the entire book, as they made for such interesting and intense reading.

A cleverly written, dark and twisted tale which will leave you questioning your abilities to think logically.