FOR BETTER AND WORSE
By Margot Hunt

For all of us on Good Reads that read for the sheer pleasure of learning something new or reading to escape and to be transported vicariously into a different time in history or reading fiction for relating to something we are currently experiencing and wish to gain a better understanding in hopes of finding closure or in this case of FOR BETTER AND WORSE wanting a thriller to scare us to death because it is just so realistic. I LOVED THIS BOOK.

I love a book that is so compelling that time is suspended for me and I lose track of time. For me there is no better reading experience than when you are saying to yourself this is so wonderful I don't want this book to end. Look no further than this book. Sometimes such as in this book there is/are characters that are so real that I have to ask myself the question of how can the author create such true to life writing. I start wondering how did the author know so many details about this subject matter? What else has the author done in life to capture their story so that with every word I read I want more? This author painted such vibrant colors of a portrait of the characters that it scared me to death. I wanted to be scared to death when I decided to read this.

This book came along at just the perfect time for me. I was in the mood for a GREAT thriller. Natalie was the coldest most calculating character that I have read in my life. She is very cool and calculating always ten steps ahead in planning the outcome of any situation. She is a criminal defense attorney and is brilliant. Natalie meets Will in law school and while they are on a date they talk about planning a murder and not getting caught. Will is more likable and not quite as scary. Fifteen years later their marriage is unraveling when their eleven year old son Charlie's innocence and safety is snatched away from him on a camping trip.

This could happen to any child and it is reprehensible. There is no gory sensational graphic details. What is chilling is how sometimes you think you know somebody but you don't truly comprehend how that person can be so duplicitous. How well they blend in with society in your small, cozy community. This will not be for everyone as it is a sensitive subject. Picture yourself in an amusement park slowly ascending in your seat ever so slowly skyward. You are scared because you are cognizant of each movement upward you are terrified when you in evidently know at any moment you will be returning back down at a speed and velocity that takes your breath away.

Thank you to Net Galley, Margot Hunt and Harlequin Mira for providing me with my digital copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Great book, sucked me right in. I only didn’t rate it higher because of the ending, but I have a feeling that any way this ended would have left me feeling meh. Good characters, solid writing. 3.5 Stars.

This is an easy and in places unbelievable read. I can understand why Nat would want to harm her sons abuser. I cannot understand why she would go through with it. I did not like the ending either. I thought it was taking events too far.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This story began with a couple dating imagining that they could plan the perfect murder. They were smart enough. But later married with an 11 year old son who has been molested by his principal the wife does plan what she believes is the perfect murder and the husband is drawn in. But is it the perfect murder?

This was a well-written and interesting, suspenseful book surrounding an incredibly tough and uncomfortable topic - child molestation. Hunt gives us the interesting perspective of chapters told from both Nat & Will's perspectives - a husband and wife who met in law school, married young, and now have an 11-year-old son and a less than perfect marriage, where there are secrets beneath the surface.

This book will leave you uneasy and asking a few questions - how well do people really know their spouse? How far would a mother (or father) go to protect or avenge their children? And who is willing to turn a blind eye?

Recommend for sure, though there's plenty that's unrealistic about some of the ending portion, I feel like the writing and building around such an awful topic and keeping the book engaging without losing the reality of the fact that things like this happen every single day warrants a read.

Thank you to Harlequin/Mira Books for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was suspenseful; though the topic was tough (molestation), the story was well played out. There were not really any twists and turns, until the very end. Secrets and lies abound in this book!

Recommend to those that loved Gone Girl, Girl on a Train, and such.


Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2364367714

This is one of those books you can't really review because there is a mystery/surprise moment that defines the book. Therefore let me leave this review by saying that a reader can have some enjoyable moments with this easy read but has to have some open mind and not stick to whether it's belivable or not - after all it's fiction.

Thanks to the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review. And good luck to the author!

Review: FOR BETTER OR WORSE by Margot Hunt. Fantastic book! This story kept my nerves on end and I had trouble putting it down. I loved the character of Nat and could definitely relate to her . ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Five star book that you won't regret buying. I can't wait to see what this author does next!

First of all, thanks to NetGalley and Mira Books for approving my request and sending me an eARC in exchange for a honest review.
You have to know English isn’t my first language, so feel free to correct me if I make some mistakes while writing this review.


Back when they were still in college, Will and Natalie talked about the perfect murder - how they were so smart they could get away with it.
Seventeen years later, Will's field is real estate and Natalie is a criminal lawyer and they grew apart from each other over the years.
They adore their son Charlie, but their world is shaken up when the dean is accused of molesting a child.
As a follow up, Charlie tells Natalie he was molested too, so she decides to take matter in her own hands - she knows how the law works, how a trial can be hard on a witness and she doesn't want to put Charlie through that.
The only option left is to kill the man who hurt her son: can she really get away with murder?


It's not a thriller per se - you know both the killer and the victim.
But it's interesting in its own way because it offers two different points of view on the same marriage.
Natalie is the character better defined: a smart and organized woman who is also led by her emotions. She gets caught in a panic and blinded by insecurities, still Will sees her as a cold and indifferent woman.
These two no longer see each other as the person they married, but still they are the only ones they can count on in this situation. Natalie and Will have to work together if they don't want to draw suspicions on them.

This book is also about a woman and her determination to stop at nothing to keep her son safe - every limit, moral or physical, disappears.
It's not graphic when it comes to pedophilia, still you sense it all over the book: maybe someone knew and never told anyone, Charlie's attitude changes under Will and Natalie's helpless eyes and they don't know what to do.

Hunt uses the right amount of details: they give you a context and the reading is smooth and fluid.
Its pace is fast, especially in the second half of the book - when you sit on the edge, waiting to know if it was the pefect murder or if the police is gonna knock in the Clarkes's door anytime soon.

Still I found the ending quite unbelievable - I don't think police would act that way, no matter how atrocius the crime was.
I liked the epilogue though: it ends on a creepy note, the promise of something yet to come - it's not over until it's really and truly over.

An awesome, compelling story. The characters are so real and the story is crazy good. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. Enjoyed every minute from start to finish. Loved this book.

I read this book in a few hours last night. I couldn't put it down.

Will and Nat, married law school sweethearts (although, sweethearts isn't a term that fits them), and son Charlie complete the Clarke family.

When Charlie gets hurt, you get to see what Will and Nat are made of, individually and as a couple, and what they are capable of doing to protect their son.

Ah, the ending ~ didn't see it coming quite that way! I just love where the author left it - very clever!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars!

I rarely find a novel where I find myself navigating away from the narrator and toward the husband. But I find myself siding with him when his wife starts revealing her true nature. This book will make you question everyone you know and what they're capable of.

Before they are married, Natalie and her husband Will joke that they are smart enough to pull off a murder. They are law students after all, so would know how to do it they assume. Fast forward fifteen years when their son Charlie is molested and the perpetrator is the school principal - and a personal friend. Natalie is a criminal attorney; does she allow her son to go through all the horrors of a criminal investigation and trial with the perp possibly getting a minor rap and Charlie reliving the nightmare, many times over? What's an intelligent criminal attorney to do?

After Will unwittingly gets pulled into Natalie's plan, everything begins to unravel. How they keep it together is the real story. But the ending is a twist. Who is Natalie really??? Would make a great movie!

Although marketed as a thriller, this was more of a suspense average murder novel, with a very unrealistic ending.
Natalie was pretty well defined as a character, a strong woman, resolute, intelligent - although many of her later actions and the way she didn't quite think of the consequences came in contrast with the rest of her personality.
The writing flowed well, the book was interesting enough to keep me reading, but part of the actions and especially the ending were too far-fetched for my taste.

After reading the first two chapters I thought to myself “what is happening? What the actual..?”

This was a very weird, yet logical read. It’s about what every parent probably would do for their children.
Without spoiling too much, the only thing I want to say is that mommy dearest made a few weird choices in this book, I couldn’t fully understand what she was thinking.

Natalie and Will Clark met in law school. On their first date they talked of being able to get away with the perfect murder. They marry and years later their talk from that date becomes more than a long ago conversation. This book was great! The characters were likable. The plot was believable and interesting. I read until the last page and didn't check once to see how many pages were left. I didn't skim through it or roll my eyes at the anything being overly described because there was no need. It is a well written story that grabbed my attention from the first page. For Better or Worse is a wonderful read. Bravo Margot Hunt, for writing a story that kept me reading and enjoying every minute of it.

There is something about relationships and not really knowing the person you're with that pull me in and keep me intrigued. For Better and Worse begins with Natalie and Will's first date, they are both in law school and jokingly discuss how to get away with murder.

Then 15 years later, the couple finds out that the principle of the school their son attends has been accused of molesting a student. When they find out their son was a victim too, the joking of 15 years ago begins to become reality. However things don't quite go as planned and start to spin out of control.

This was a book that kept me reading and wanting to find out what Natalie and Will would do next. It is told from both Natalie and Will's points of view with a quick pace and captivating story. I love reading books that keep me guessing.

#For Better and Worse, Thank you to# Net Galley and #MIRA for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Will and Natalie meet in law school, they are both successful attorneys and have a 11 year old son. They learn that the principal at their son's school has been arrested for molesting students. The principal is also a personal friend of Will and Natalie. Just how far will they go to protect their son? This book is a definite must read, a fast paced thriller with a few surprising twists and turns.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin MIRA books for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first time I have read anything by Margot Hunt, and she is definitely an author I would read again. "For Better and Worse" is the story of the Clarke family - Natalie, a criminal defense attorney; Will, a trust and estate attorney; and their 11-year-old son Charlie. Natalie and Will met in law school, and on their first date, Will joked that they were smarter than the average criminal and could probably plan the perfect murder. Little did they know that the joke would become reality years later when they find themselves in a situation where Charlie is victimized and Natalie is faced with an overwhelming desire to protect him from being picked apart by the criminal justice system.

The story is told in three parts - first from Natalie's point of view, second from Will's point of view, and finally again from Natalie's. There were several times throughout the book that I thought I knew what was going to happen, but I never guessed how this would end. The story was well-written, and the author did a great job of showing us exactly what kind of people Natalie and Will are. It will definitely keep your attention because you will want to know what's going to happen next, will their marriage survive, will the bad guys be brought to justice, and really what IS justice in this case? It's also obvious why the book is called "For Better AND Worse" instead of "For Better OR Worse."

I would definitely recommend picking this one up.

Honestly this was one of the best mystery books I've read in awhile. It wasn't one of the who did it books, it was more like holy crap what's going to happen next books. This book is about Natalie and her husband Will who back in law school and on their first date, joked that they could plan the perfect murder. After fifteen years of marriage that perfect murder idea gets tested when their son Charlie's school principal is accused of molesting young boys. When Charlie tells Natalie he was also a victim, Natalie decides that the law won't punish the predator enough and takes it into her own hands to exact what he deserves. After concocting a plot, her husband Will gets pulled into it also and becomes her unwilling partner.

In this book you never know what's going to happen next and the author keeps you guessing and in suspense throughout. Thank you so much to Harlequin Mira for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my review.