One of the best books i have read! Definitely a book that stays with you! Could not put it down!

Highly recommended if you enjoy suspense genre! Thank you for my review copy, which I received through Net Galley.

3.5

I really enjoyed this despite the medium rating I'm giving it. I found the story compelling, even if it was mostly obvious/had no surprises, and quite liked the main character, Nat. She was interesting and I really liked how she was both soft/sad and hardcore as hell. Will, on the other hand, had basically no back-bone and no welcoming qualities but his section was still alright.

I am only rating it 3.5 because while it's touted as a thriller I didn't find it necessarily <i>thrilling</i>. It was interesting and I read it all in a day but it wasn't the typical "thriller" read.

Thank you for this early copy!

This was well-written and intriguing read. I recommend this novel to those who enjoy an interesting thriller.

It's not an easy subject to write about, the author didn't dwell too much on the abuse but still managed to show how devastating it is for the victim and his family. I was half willing for Nat to do what she planned and half willing for her to get justice the traditional way. I definitely would recommend this book and would like to thank the publishers and netgalley for letting me review it. The opinions expressed are entirely my own and are unbiased.
, #forbetterandworse#Netgalley

Margot Hunt has written an mesmerizing novel, For Better and Worse.
In each marriage we promise to take each for better or worse, but when someone hurts your child and might get away with it?
Well, it can't get much worse than that and how can you make it better?
Sometimes you just need to need to kill them.
Solid gold five stars.

Because I absolutely loved Margot Hunt’s novel Best Friends Forever, I was super anxious to get my hands on For Better And Worse. I love nothing more than a great page turner that makes me stay up past my bedtime and I had a feeling this book would cause a few late nights!

That being said, I was a little nervous when the plot began to heat up and I learned that the son of the main characters had been sexually abused by the school principal. Eeek! This is not a light topic. Thankfully the story is more about how each of the parents handled this and how they spiraled into a murderous plan. What would you do if someone molested your child? You’d probably want revenge, but how far would you go?

Here are the details:

When they fell in love back in law school, Natalie and Will Clarke joked that they were so brilliant, together they could plan the perfect murder. After fifteen rocky years of marriage, they had better hope they’re right.

Their young son Jacob’s principal is accused of molesting a troubled student. It’s a horrifying situation—and the poison spreads rapidly. One night before bed, Jacob tells Natalie he is a victim, too. In that moment, her concept of justice changes forever. Natalie decides the predator must die.

To shelter Jacob from the trauma of a trial, Natalie concocts an elaborate murder plot and Will becomes her unwilling partner. The Clarkes are about to find out what happens when your life partner becomes your accomplice—and your alibi.



Margot Hunt (Margot Hunt is a pseudonym for the author) crafts a well-paced story that kept me engaged from beginning to end.

“Then one of two things will happen. Behind door number one—Robert is convicted, which could possibly give Charlie some sort of closure, whatever that means, and Robert will go to jail for a really long time. And then Charley will spend the rest of his life wondering if he did the right thing, second-guessing himself, because don’t forget, it will already have been planted in his brain that he might not have remembered exactly what happened after all, or
behind door number two— Robert is acquitted, and possibly goes on to hurt other kids, and Charley spends the rest of his life wondering if he could have prevented that by being a better witness. And either way, he’ll ‘always’ be known as that kid who is molested by the principal”.

***Shoreham, Florida is a small town where mom’s network ( gossip), and nothing stays a secret for long.
****OH COURSE THIS IS A SMALL TOWN....
.....where scandalous secrets are are sweeter than hot apple pie à la mode!!!!

The blurb says:
“Shocked to discover Nat’s taken matters into her own hands, Will has no choice but to *dirty* his, also”....
SHARING ONE PAIR OF RUBBER GLOVES!!! - literally.... too funny!

I love a novel that keeps me on the edge - dying to keep reading - but can make me laugh at the same time.
Maybe I’m a sick human being - but I cracked up in the middle of this story - yet I was still gripping my kindle wanting to know every detail just as much as the snotty smug mom’s in town would.
A BLAST OF FUN READING...
Couldn’t wait to find out how it would end ...
My lips are sealed!!!!

Read it!!!! It’s a trip!!!!!

“Mothers are watchers, carefully accumulating and storing the moments that make up their child’s life.”

Wow! This book! I’ve just finished it and I am stunned! The various plot lines and character stories were so intricately linked that this story was both highly compelling and a stark reminder that our our justice system, our society’s, even our species, are highly flawed. That we live in a world where the notion of good and bad is lost in a vast quagmire of subjectivity, and shades of grey.

For Better and Worse is one of those books that I think will haunt me for some time.

Many thanks to Margot Hunt, Harlequin MIRA, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley & MIRA for the ARC. Finally!! A strong willed, intelligent, driven female narrator. Don’t get me wrong, I love a slippery, unreliable narrator as much as the next person, but it was a refreshing relief to have a voice that was firm and certain, with her male counterpart taking the role of “Hot Mess” for a change. What an awesome concept for a thriller. It forced you to put yourself in a situation like the one in the book and question if you would have the gall to do what this husband and wife duo did. This book kept me on the edge of seat, eagerly devouring each sentence until I reached its satisfying end. Absolutely would recommend.

For Better and Worse. Margot Hunt

17 years ago, Natali and William were on their first date. Both Law School students they occupied themselves innocently plotting the perfect murder.

Now happily married, or so Nat thinks, in a seaside town in Florida, they enjoy a Sunday morning on the beach with Charlie, their 11 year old son.

When an emergency meeting is called at Charlies school the perfect life starts to unravel.

Now, as a Criminal Defence Attorney, Nat has a good knowledge of how the law will treat people who end up being either the accused, or the accuser, and she is not sure which is the worse experience.

She has to protect Charlie, but will her husband want, or be capable, of helping in any way.

She is sure Will is having an affair, but little does she know the effect it could have on her plans.

This is a great story and uses a clever little trick to really give the reader a terrific ride.

Most of the story is told in the first person by Nat. Her emotions, her interpretations of events, her thoughts.

But a couple of the chapters are written in the first person from Wills point of view. Does he see things like his wife does. The secrets he is keeping from Nat, and how he tries to balance her world with his.

This psychological thriller explores a mother and a father and how far they would go to protect their child. Two very different approaches, two very different ethos, with one aim. Keep Charlie safe.

This is a great story. I loved the way the two main characters have a common need, but both have very different ways of trying to achieve it.

This is no normal husband, wife, combined front. This is two people struggling to find a way to survive a series of events and come out of it in one piece. But one of them has a very different idea of what that should be achieved.

This is the first Margot Hunt book I’ve read. It definitely won’t be the last.

Pages: 384
Publisher: Mira Books
Publishing Date UK: 11th December 2018.

This was one of the best mystery/thrillers I have read in a long time.
This book was a page turner even from the beginning. Once you get into the plot, it’s impossible to put down.
There’s a lot to ponder about Nat and Will’s relationship throughout the novel. I love that the author keeps the book at a curious page, but it’s still impossible to put down. The ending will leave you blew my mind, it was definitely not what I was expecting.

Till death do us part
When they fell in love back in law school, Natalie and Will Clarke joked that they were so brilliant, together they could plan the perfect murder. After fifteen rocky years of marriage, they had better hope they’re right.
Their young son Jacob’s principal is accused of molesting a troubled student. It’s a horrifying situation—and the poison spreads rapidly. One night before bed, Jacob tells Natalie he is a victim, too. In that moment, her concept of justice changes forever. Natalie decides the predator must die.
To shelter Jacob from the trauma of a trial, Natalie concocts an elaborate murder plot and Will becomes her unwilling partner. The Clarkes are about to find out what happens when your life partner becomes your accomplice—and your alibi. Goodreads
This book was a real page turner!! I know I know, I say that all the time but, it was!! 😉😉 When I think of all the possible endings to this book, this was NOT the one I had imagined! And yet, it was a nice change from the stories I've read lately. NO spoilers but, if you're a parent, you'll probably agree with what happens...I hope that wasn't a spoiler!!
BUT, there's still another twist, ohh did you think I was done? Haha, nope this thriller/suspense just turns the wheels in your brain as you're reading.
Interesting to note, I'd never heard of this author before but, thanks to NetGalley they approved me to receive an #arc and I'm so glad they did!! Thanks #netgalley, I really enjoyed this read. It was twisted, honest and overall, scary. I definitely recommend it, there were some spots where I had the thought of "really? Could you come up with something just a little different and not so typical" but, the author did a great job researching in the right areas and getting the story across.
It's a fast read so, be prepared to not want to put it down and finish in one sitting.
Thanks for reading and I hope you're reading something great!

A propulsive thriller with intriguing characters based on an all too common situation with an unusual denouement. When her son's teacher and her good friend is accused of sexually abusing a child, Nat finds herself contemplating an act that will change everyone's life forever - including ten year old Charlie. Well written, with sympathetic characters and realistic dialog.

Oh man. One part domestic thriller (philandering husband), one part murder mystery (not whodunit, but will they get away with it?), one part "I have to suspend my disbelief with a construction crane" ... well, that's how you get For Better and Worse.

Nat and Will are lawyers, raising their young son together in the idyllic suburbs. Suddenly, a dramatic shift rocks their tight-knit community, and the justice system (yet again) fails where it should be succeeding. This sets Nat out on a path of revenge - after all, she had her husband had talked about how to commit the perfect crime on their first date - what better way to test that theory?

There is some inconsistency (a therapist who is obviously a mandated reporter definitely not doing his mandated reporter job, for instance), but above all this is a wildly gallivanting thriller if you can pretend the legal system functions differently while between these covers.

First, I really did enjoy this story. I read it in one day. I was intrigued by Will and Nic's relationship and I liked how the book began with their first date and then flashed forward to them at the beach with their child. I was invested in the characters and I was so mad at Will for his marital indiscretions. I wanted them to work things out. There was one moment where Nic thought that maybe she and Will had never been happy, but I felt there wasn't a lot of the relationship analysis from her. She didn't seem to either want it to work nor did she care if it fell apart. I wasn't completely sold on the ending with the Sheriff's decision. However, I grew up in a small town in the south and I do suppose I could see something like that happening. I actually liked that Nic turned vigilante at the end and went to pursue her former friend. It certainly left the book open ended enough to have a sequel.

Secondly, there were a few grammatical mistakes that I noticed. At 13% in, at the assembly: "I was still so shocked, I was finding it hard to breath." Should be breathe. At 15% in: "He claims that it happened last month when the seventh graders were on their overnight class trip to the St. Augustine." I believe either the "the" can be removed or it needs to mention a locale in St. Augustine. At 27%: "Forget about it. I was upset. It had too much wine." Should be "I" had too much wine. At 65%: ""You're father?" I asked." Should be "Your" (Will speaking at the dinner party.) There was also a minor inconsistency towards the end. Nat was thinking to herself about Tate's adoption she mentions that Tate's mother told her at a fundraiser for the kids' school about all the hoops they had to jump through to become foster parents. However, she tells Nat this on her back porch over tea when Nat stops by, almost verbatim. While it doesn't mean that she didn't tell her twice, I think it flows better for the book to change the piece at the end where Nat remembers it from the porch conversation. I also believe my copy had several spellings of Jaime/Jamie.

Overall, a good book but may need another pass at editing.

A little predictable but I have to say, I kind of like Margot Hunt's books. They have "twist" but you don't feel like the whole book is working up to it, there is a lot of other things going on as well. I don't know if it needed to switch perspectives though.

Thank you to NetGalley and HARLEQUIN for an advanced read in exchange for this review.  

Natalie and Will are married.  They're both lawyers.  On their first date back in law school, they joked that they could commit the perfect murder.  Now, the joke has become reality as someone in the community has harmed their child. Natalie knows the broken legal system won't bring justice and will traumatize Will even more.  

An overall solid read, except for one part which I will get to in a second.  Natalie and Will's marriage is already strained.  Natalie suspects an affair as Will has lost weight and is always guarding his phone.  Their marriage plays an important part in the story.  The ending was satisfactory, and me, as a reader, hung on as I wondered what would happen to Natalie and Will as the story unfolded.  

I was a little confused with one aspect of the story though.  Why didn't the therapist report Charlie's abuse?  This part bothered me.  I don't care (well, I kind of do) that Natalie did not want to, but the therapist certainly was obligated to.  Natalie just planned for therapy and then was going to sweep all of this under the rug?  While everyone is poking holes into the original accuser's story because he's "a bad foster kid", she can't come forward to bring credibility to the accuser?  Natalie is angry about someone not reporting how terrible Robert is, yet she is doing the exact same thing.  Pot meet Kettle.  I had originally intended to give this a higher rating, but writing this review and thinking of this part has changed my mind.  

I will say that there were two spellings of Jaime in the book.  I imagine this will be corrected before the novel is officially published.

*Thanks to NetGalley and MIRA for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.* How far would you go to keep your child safe? Are some crimes so bad that the only punishment can be death? How strong is a marriage? These are just a few of the questions that Hunt has readers ponder in her latest offering, 'For Better and Worse.' Will and Natalie are high-achieving lawyers and parents to a 11-year-old Jacob, when they hear the horrifying news that the principal of their son's private school has been arrested for molesting a students. I am loathe to reveal much more of the plot as I wish to avoid any chance of a spoiler in this well-written and fast-paced thriller. A thoroughly enjoyable read that you won't want to put down. I enjoyed Hunt's previous novel, 'Best Friends Forever,' but this is better again. A brilliant, thrilling read with quite a few twists thrown in at the end.

I received For Better and Worse by Margot Hunt for free through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but got very into it. I was thinking that it would be a romance, but it absolutely is not. I don't want to ruin the story, so cannot say much about the story, but it is very suspenseful and the characters are not how you would expect deep down. I thought about this book for long after I finished reading it. I will definitely look for more by this author.

Good read, even though it was a bit formulaic. I felt like the door was left open for a sequel, which would be fascinating!