This psychological thriller had me hooked from the start and didn't let me go,until the last page. Julie discovers her husband is having an affair and shortly after husband Paul is found dead in bed and Julie becomes the prime murder suspect. As the plot unfolds there are twists and turns along the way which help kept me on the edge of my seat!

I was definitely intrigued to find out that Leigh Russell had written a standalone psychological thriller as I have really enjoyed her Geraldine Steel and Lucy Hall books in recent years. And after reading The Adulterers Wife, I hope this isn’t a one off and we can look forward to more standalones in the future!

So Julie’s husband leaves his phone at home one day and as many of us would (well, some would anyway!!) she looks at his messages and gets a shock when she sees messages from another woman. But her son is in the middle of his exams and Julie doesn’t want to disrupt this important time for him so decides to leave any decisions about her marriage until the exam period is over. She tells her girlfriends who encourage her to throw the lying cheating creep out and she decides she will. But after waking up from a night out, she discovers him dead in their marital bed. Julie becomes the main suspect in his murder and what follows is a race against time to prove her innocence.

I have to start by saying that Julie wasn’t always the most likeable of characters here and she made some VERY questionable decisions that really didn’t help her cause at all! As a mother I totally got her determination to have her son protected from the fallout of first his fathers adultery and then his death but her over protectiveness became a barrier to her ability to protect herself! And every step forward that Julie took to prove her innocence usually ended up with her taking more than a few steps back as she makes matters worse. In the end she decides to just go ahead and risk everything to find Paul’s murderer. But there are many puzzles for her to unravel first and plenty of shocking twists still to come before the last few gripping pages finally give up their secrets.

Leigh Russell can certainly write an involving and gripping storyline so I was swept away very quickly into the terrifying world of prime suspect number one! I felt every frustration that followed Julie’s hunt for the truth, even though I wanted to scream at her occasionally to stop being so bloody minded!! I think it helped that I felt sorry for her as she seemed to have the most “fair weather” friends in the entire world!! Honestly, surely real friends should be there for you through the good times AND the bad? But no, at the slightest sign of trouble they bailed! And Julie really is then left alone so seeks help in the most unlikely of places.

I would probably like to have seen a little more development of Dan, Julie and Paul’s son, as the mother/son relationship is always an intriguing plot thread for me personally. But the female friendships more than made up for this plus the unusual chemistry between Julie and the private detective that she hired to help her.

All in all this is a very readable book that I sat and devoured in one sunny afternoon. It’s easy to become involved in the characters misfortune even if that involvement does come with a high dose of perverse pleasure from watching other people’s domestic dilemmas. Just remember that you never know what goes on behind closed doors so don’t be as quick to judge as Julie’s friends and family are!

The Adulterers Wife is a nice departure for Leigh Russell but she done so without losing that magic touch her fans have come to expect from her previous books. A well written, fast paced and engaging psychological thriller

The Adulterer's Wife by Leigh Russell started off pretty well, It's hard not to be sympathetic to a character who has been cheated on. However, Julie, the main protagonist came off as kind of wimpy, and not quite as angry or emotional about the state of her marriage as may be warranted. When she discovers her husband is dead, she doesn't even seem to be terribly bothered by it. This seems unrealistic, even given the fact that her husband has cheated. When she becomes the primary suspect, obviously, she seems more concerned about the kind of payout she will receive. Had to leave this one unread, ultimately it didn't hold my attention.

Julie reads a mesaage on her husband's phone and discovers that he is having an affair. She decides to put off confronting him until after her sons school exams are over, he has a difficult enough time witb his disabilty. She does however tell her girlfriend's about the affair and remarks about how she could kill him. She then discovers him dead in their bed and becomes suspect #1. This story is by the book predictable with alot of uunrealistic drama thrown in.

I am a massive fan of Leigh's both the DI Geraldine Steel, DS Ian Peterson and Lucy Hall so you can image my excitement when I found out Leigh was moving out of her comfort zone with a standalone psychological thriller. I have lost track of how many times I have said this but once again I went into this story without reading the blurb knowing that it was by an author's writing that I knew well and I sure has hell wasn't disappointed.

Hooked from the very first page I was taken on roller coaster journey following Julie's story. Image finding out that your husband is having an affair to finding him dead in bed?! This is what happens to Julie and it is just the start of her nightmare. Leigh weaves a story that will have you guessing until the very end. I couldn't help but emphasize with Julie she is a brilliant character I found myself flying through this story, in fact I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out what was going to happen next. It is full of twists and turns that will certainly take you by surprise.

Being a fan of Leigh's I could tell this was written by her, has always it is a flowing paced easy read and has always it isn't to descriptive so the story lets your imagination do the work. You can feel the tension and mystery throughout the story leaving me a jittering wreck. When the story steps up and apace or two OMG Leigh Russell what are you doing to me lol I love the fact that she hasn't changed her writing style and I really hope that Leigh writes more stories in this genre.

The Adulterer's Wife is a truly entertaining read which I highly recommend giving it 4 stars.

Thank you to Sarah Hardy for inviting me to take part in this fab tour.

This book grabbed me at the start, but I don't feel it lived up to its early expectations. I struggled to have any sympathy with the main character and her thought processes throughout did not seem believable to me. I worked out who the killer was pretty early and am unconvinced that the police wouldn't have worked it out earlier in the story too.

I love the Geraldine Steel and Lucy Hall books by this author. This stand alone is a psychological thriller and I read it over three days. I did guess the killer early on in the book but it never spoiled my enjoyment. This is the first psychological thriller from the author and it had lies, murder, a good pace and an interesting plot. The main character of Julie, I really wanted to give her a good shake up and her friends made me quite irritated! A very good holiday read although I much prefer the other two series of books by Leigh Russell. Thank you Bloodhound Books and Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Amazon, Facebook and Goodreads.

This is the first book I have read by Leigh and is a standalone... I look forward to reading more by Leigh in the future.

Poor Julie I actually felt sorry for her character having to go through so much while being accussed of murder and her son Dan having to deal with it all too. Who can she turn too? Can you even trust your friends or family? Who's telling the truth? Who's lying? Can you figure it out? I didn't.

A real who dunnit with an unexpected explosive outcome I did not see coming, it is not who you would expect! A jaw dropper of an ending. A cleverly written storyline which is easy to read, fast paced and contains short chapters. Brilliant! Devoured this story within 24 hours. A well deserved four stars. Highly recommend!

Paul and Julie Barrett have a son, Dan, age 17, who was born with cerebral palsy. While Julie stayed home with Dan for years, Paul feels Dan can take care of himself so now Julie is working several mornings a week at a medical center.

One morning, Paul forgets his phone at home and when it rings, Julie opens it to find a sexually explicit message from someone eager to see him on Tuesday when he is supposed to be playing squash. Since Dan is in the middle of exams at school, Julie decides to destroy Paul’s phone and hide pieces of it and then confront him after Dan’s exams are over.

Julie wakes up one morning after having been out drinking with her girlfriends the night before to find Paul is still in bed. She figures he is just sleeping in, but in fact, she discovers later that he has died in the night. The police immediately zero in on her as his killer.

The police search for Paul’s killer. They think Julie killed him, but did she? Julie is trying to find out who Paul was having an affair with. She hires a private detective who loves to spend her money.

This story had potential but Julie is a total twit. She seems to drop into pitfalls by simply not paying attention. I truly felt like she would be better off in a safe, padded cell. In addition, what took the police so long to figure out what killed Paul? This book is just a mess.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

How can you not notice your dead husband in bed?

Julie is shocked to discover her husband is having an affair. She decides to bide her time and not confront him until their son has finished his exams.

Then she finds her husband dead and the police immediately start investigating his death and of course her. To save her son from the disturbing situation she sends him to Scotland while she fights to clear her name.

The only way to clear her name is to find the real killer.

I wasn’t keen, the book and story dragged on and the characters weren’t very likeable and I didn’t really care if they found the killer or not. It was a very lacklustre attempt and not my cup of murder. The real murderer is obvious from the beginning and there are no real twists or gasping moments. It was all very bland.

Perhaps I would be better off reading one of the author’s other books as this is her first foray into the psychological thriller genre.

Chester

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Julie wakes up next to her supposedly sleeping hubby that she just found out has been having an affair. She goes about her day tending to their disabled son and comes home to find her husband still in bed. This is when she realizes he is dead and she instantly becomes a suspect when the police find out about his affair. This thriller grabbed me from the first page and didn't let me go!

Leigh Russell steps out from her successful Geraldine Steel police procedural series to tell a story from the other side of the law. When Julie discovers that her husband has been having an affair, her world starts to fall apart; but that’s just the beginning. When her husband is found dead, the police and everyone around her is quick to point the finger. Having gained status as their prime suspect, she enlists the help of an unscrupulous private detective to help her clear her name, but who can she trust? And can Julie find out who killed her husband before it’s too late? The Adulterer’s Wife is a fast and absorbing read with more than enough dodgy GPS to send the reader off-road. The book is told entirely from Julie’s point of view and her gradual isolation makes it difficult to relate entirely to any other character. This is not a criticism rather an example of the first-person narrative cleverly executed for maximum effect.

As a character Julie comes across a bit like Skyler in Breaking Bad, initially eliciting sympathy, but as the plot becomes more tangled and the skeletons come falling out of the closet we find ourselves having mixed feelings about her, but we still secretly admire her resolve.

The 90s film Sleeping With The Enemy is referenced in the book, and The Adulterer’s Wife has much in common with 80s and 90s psychological thrillers: imagine parts of Basic Instinct meets Fatal Attraction - without the sex. The obsession, the paranoia, jealousy, revenge, the rabbit holes, they are all there (though there’s no bunny boiling in this book.) If anything, I would love to have seen Leigh go just a little bit further with this angle of the book.

As the cover suggests it really is Leigh Russell as you’ve never seen her before. Those familiar with her writing will know how much of a page-turner her other books are, and this is no exception. Like all the best thrillers The Adulterer’s Wife will keep you guessing and dodging those red herrings right until the bitter end.

My review is written with thanks to Sarah Hardy at Bloodhound Books for inviting me on the tour, and for providing my copy of the book via Netgalley.
Julie is devastated when she finds a text on her husband, Paul's phone from another woman. But things go from bad to worse when Julie wakes up the following morning to discover his dead body. Paul has been murdered, and the police are convinced that Julie is the killer. In order to clear her name, she must find the real perpetrator. Who killed Paul?
Russell is very quick out of the blocks in The Adulterer's Wife and almost straight away, we are plunged into a world of deception and secrets. This makes the novel extremely compelling, as I tried to piece together what had happened. As Paul's murder happens so early in the novel, there is very little time for us to build a picture of Paul's life, and this does not make it immediately obvious who the suspects would be. This kept me guessing as to what happened.
None of the characters (except Dan, but I'll come to him in a bit) are particularly likeable, and this means that everyone is under suspicion. At some point in the novel, every character behaves badly, and Julie's narration emphasises that as readers, we only get to see her interpretation of the truth. At times, I wanted to shake Julie as the situation makes her exhibit some bizarre behaviour. This helps to build the tension, and I constantly changed my mind about who was lying.
As someone who has cerebral palsy, I was pleased to see people with cerebral palsy represented in the novel in the shape of Dan. Dan is independent and intelligent, and I commend Russell for portraying Dan in this way, and showing that disabled people are able to live fulfilling lives.

After reading the Geraldine Steel series I was interested to see which direction Leigh Russell would take us.

When Julie discovers her husband Paul is having an affair she is devastated, although their 20 year marriage had become stale, she still loved Paul and when she discovers Paul dead in bed, the police think he was murdered and Julie becomes the main suspect, now she has to prove her innocence. On discovering that Paul had many women in his life, Julie finds that she didn’t really know her husband at all.

A good book with many twists and turns, usually I can guess who the murderer is but in this case I was wrong.

The Adulterer’s Wife by Leigh Russell

Hmmm…as I read I kept thinking…Really? The story seemed at times more of a comedy than a murder mystery and if done as a movie would need to be done as a spoof…perhaps… I did not connect with the characters at all and could never understand the thinking processes or actions of Julie. Since I don’t want to give the plot away and since the blurb says that Paul, Julie’s husband has been murdered I will only say that at no point in this book could I see myself behaving as Julie did. I am really trying to find something that I can say that I liked in the story...and I am coming up empty handed.

Did I like Julie? No
Was the plot believable? No
Would I read another book by this author? Maybe
Who do I recommend this book to? Not sure

I did see that this author has series of books that some people love and have read reviews by others who found this book worthy of five stars but…that reader is not me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloodhound Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

1-2 Stars

julie inadvertently finds out her husband, Paul, of 20 odd years is having an affair and plans to leave her and their disabled teenage son for his mistress. rather than confront paul she decides to wait until her son’s gcse exams are over so as to avoid harming his results.

after a drunken night out with friends, Julie wakes in her own bed the following morning to discover Paul is dead lying next time her. this is where the story gets complicated and julie is accused of murder.

the narrative of this book sounded interesting sadly for me it didn’t deliver. Julie’s actions are extremely questionable at times and actually make her look guilty despite her pleas of innocence. her lack of emotion about her husband’s affair and subsequent death felt bizarre. her friend’s and parent-in-law’s reaction to her arrest didn’t add up and so the story was not believable for me.

many thanks to netgalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is totally addictive and has to read in one go . Brilliant twisted story that keeps you guessing right up until.the end. A must read book this summer

Leigh Russell is a new author for me and I loved this book.
Julie discovers her husband Paul has been having affair for two years and is left hurt and shocked by her discovery of text messages between the two of them.
She confides in her two close friends but swears them to secrecy as she doesn’t want to confront him until her son has sat his final GCSE exam.
She doesn’t get the chance though as Paul is found dead the next morning.
The Police don’t believe that Julie had nothing to do with his death and soon she’s charged with his murder.
Julie desperately tries to prove her innocence but nothing can prepare her for what she discovers about those closest to her.
This is a gripping read and will have you racing through the pages towards the end as you’ll be desparate to know how it all ends.
Thanks to Bloodhound Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Julie is devastated to discover her husband of 19 years has been having an affair behind her back but, before she can tackle him about his infidelity, he shows up dead. Julie is the prime suspect, with all evidence pointing squarely at her, leaving her in a race to discover the identity of the true killer and save herself from jail.

I was really interested by the premise of this one and it didn't disappoint. I've read a lot of psychological thrillers recently and this is definitely one of the better ones out there. I suspected pretty much everyone of being the killer at different points! There are subtle clues dropped for the reader but plenty of red herrings, too so you don't come to the correct conclusion too early.

Some of Julie's decisions were highly questionable and didn't feel realistic, but this didn't detract from the overall story. My main criticism is that it seemed to wrap up far too neatly and quickly at the end but that wouldn't stop me from recommending it to fans of the genre as it was still a highly enjoyable story.

Julie and Paul have been married 19 years. They live with their 17 year old son, Dan, who was born with cerebral palsy. Julie finds out that Paul has been having an affair with Bella for 2 years. She confides this to her best friends- Nina and Katie. The day Julie plans to "out" the affair to Paul - she finds him dead in his sleep. More than being sad, Julie fears the police. This because Julie spent last night out with her two best friends and arrived home falling down drunk. She doesn't remember even going to bed. Dan takes his father's death hard. Dan goes to Scotland to be with Paul's parents as had already been planned awhile ago. A couple of days later, Julie phones Bella to arrange a meet-up. As Julie begins to feel the heat of being the accused, she tries to both shift the blame and prove her innocence. Eventually Julie meets up with a somewhat dodgy PI and retains him. Next, Bella is found dead. Now Julie is on house arrest. She doggedly starts investigating the murders and finds out what her husband was REALLY up to. As for the conclusion - SHATTERING !