I see that many other reviewers absolutely loved this book and gave it 5 stars and I agree that it has a good twist and is a decent enough thriller. However, I unfortunately just found it a bit unbelievable at times and difficult to fathom. None of the characters were particularly likeable and some of the scenarios within the story were just a bit odd. This was just ok for me.

Wow! I found this book brilliant. It's a modern thriller which has shock value. I couldn't put it down. Read this book soon.

This book was fast paced. Hard to put down. It flowed well and it was very well written. It caught hold of me and had me hooked from the start . I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this book.

This is about the lengths one would go for a best friend. When Rebecca finds out her best friend Nicole has committed suicide, she goes to find out what exactly happened. This book will keep you guessing!

I really wanted to like this book. It was touted to be like Gone Girl and a couple others along that line. Great. I liked those books. But within a couple pages I knew exactly where this book was going. And then the author discovered the word “misogynist.” It was used over and over to the point where it became comical. I highly doubt that too many physically and mentally abused wives refer to their husbands as “the misogynist,” but this one did. Over and over and over. The definition Isn’t even correct in this situation. I usually finish a book when I start (hoping it will get better, I guess). This one was a big waste of time.

Nicole deserves a life better than the one she had. An abusive husband and a mother who treated her like garbage. When she finds the handsome and kind Richard, what more could she ever want? Tragically, life wasn't kind to Nicole any more than it had been as she took her own life not all too long after she and Richard were married. Becky, Nicole's best friend, tries to understand what happened surrounding her friend's death as so many details just don't add up. What follows next is a tail of lies, mystery, lust and forgiveness.

I gave this book 3 stars because for one, it was so hard for me to keep everyone straight at first. When you have so many characters like this, I don't feel its a good idea to have a narrator. I feel like the chapters labeled by their names should be in first person, in THEIR voice. It's way too confusing when you have so many "she" characters. The pronouns just get confusing.

Another reason is the story had a lot of potential but just felt like a debut read when this author has several others. Its a good read, a quick read, and one I really did enjoy. But it wasn't amazing. I could read this book alongside another one rather easily (so long as I kept track of who was who lol)

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

No, tried it, read part of it, felt I've read something almost too similar recently and couldn't finish it. I tried, but this has been done way too much.

At first, I couldn't get into it. I tried for a few times but it just didn't stick.

I think it's not a general flaw of this book. I just personally hated the narratives. Very possibly some Freudian problem where I've met people like that in my real life sometime in a not so memorable past...

So due to that, I didn't really care that much about their well-being and kept expecting some sort of slasher party.

Other than that, the plot is typically predictable halfway through, much like British crime fiction is these days. This makes most of the so-called beach reads simply skimmable so that you can otherwise entertain yourself with watching live people engage in drama in that said beach, I guess.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read this in exchange for my honest review.

The Second Wife by Sheryl Browne was a quick, fun (if you're into psychological thrillers) read and I really enjoyed it. First let me say that if you're a fan of books like Girl on the Train, you'll probably like this. It's full of deceit, lies, and thrilling shenanigans to make you entertained and feel better about your own life. Lol. After Rebecca's best friend dies, she ends up marrying her husband and moving in to their home, along with his teenage daughter. Immediately you sense that things are not as they seem, and then you end up on a roller coaster ride!

This wasn't the most wonderful book I've ever read in my life, but I had just finished a really heavy WW2 novel and this was the perfect follow-up. Entertaining, not too serious, and kept me on the edge of my seat until the end!

4 out of 5 stars for The Seciond Wife by Sheryl Browne.

Well just finished reading this and have to say it’s amazing, I’m off to see if I can find some more by the author.

Full of suspense, lies, deception and thrilling to boot it’s a real page turner an done you must read.

The story is told from various people’s points of view and flits from past to present but does t have you confused like some can when written like this.

The storyline was crazy, 2 best friends who lose touch, 3yrs later one is called up to be told the other killed herself, she goes to investigate and ends up living with her BFs husband!

Absolute madness 😂 but in a fabulous way, seriously loved it and was gutted when it was all over!

Buy it now!

A great page turner with pace and tension that kept me turning the pages until the end. Thanks to NG and the publisher for the advance copy,

*Thank you to the publishers for an ARC of this book in return for a fair and honest review.
Browne's latest is the tale of a woman who meets and marries her best friend's widower. After moving into his house, along with his teenage daughter, she begins to realize that things are not all they seem. I'd call this an average thriller, nothing really spectacular, but a fun read on the beach this summer.

Rebecca and Nicole have been best friends for years , when Nicole escapes from a violent relationship she finds herself falling in love with the charming Richard, the only problem is his selfish jealous daughter Olivia.
Nicole falls deep into depression and ends her own life. . The story goes on to Rebecca meeting Richard and Olivia for the first time at Nicole's funeral and decides to delve deeper into Nicole's last few months to find out what was really going on behind closed doors.
A very enjoyable read with a good twist...I give this book 4 stars

The main focus of this book is the friendship between Nicole and Rebecca and is told in alternate narration. Rebecca learns of her friend’s untimely death and comes to town to attend the funeral services. There she meets Nicole’s Husband Richard and his needy Daughter Olivia. Unbeknownst to Richard and Olivia, Nicole has told her friend of all the things that she has endured since her whirlwind marriage. As time goes on, Rebecca decides to infiltrate the family to find out exactly what happened to her best friend. The Second Wife started out a bit slow with no clear direction of what the motive was. The more I read it became apparent that Rebecca isn’t as innocent as she seemed to be and may have an agenda of her own. There were a few twists that did keep the story interesting. This was the first Sylvia Browne book I have read, and I am looking forward to reading her other titles.

This took me awhile to finish. Even the last 5% took 2 days. The first 50% was so full of nothingness that the only mystery at this point was why I had continued reading. The fun of reading a mystery is to be given a hint of what’s going on. So that in the end we can be wowed at not knowing or figuring it out. This did neither. There were no mysterious acts brought up besides what’s on the cover. Actual plot was not revealed until halfway and this includes the reason behind the point of this book. So instead of slowly revealing things along the way you get everything explained to you after you already don’t care for the last 30% They tease things at the end page after page then end abruptly doing nothing. Felt like ideas were written about but sticking with an idea to execution were completely ignored. Also, having someone about to kill you and mentioning how attractive they are in that same moment was gag inducing

Wow! A super powerful thriller, a serious contender for being made into a film noir! Is everything as it seems, is this the life that is on show - or is there something darker lurking ?

This is Sheryl Browne’s third psychological thriller and what a fantastic read!

I haven’t read anything by this author, Sheryl Browne before I chose to read her latest novel THE SECOND WIFE. I selected this book because I absolutely adore mysteries and thrillers and I liked the interesting premise. ‘The Affair’ and the ‘The Babysitter’ are both on my e-reader and I will get to them sometime soon.

As the story unfolded, the twists kept on coming and the level of tension steadily rose. I did not find all of the characters particularly likeable but that complemented the story and I believe it was intended as part of the plot.

The two main characters were Nicole and Rebecca. Following a whirlwind romance, Nicole married Richard but then she died after, apparently, committing suicide. Her best friend Rebecca decided to pursue Nicole’s death as she can’t accept that she would have taken her own life. Richard then invites Rebecca to stay with him and his daughter, Olivia. Rebecca succumbs to Richard’s charms and believes he was a devoted husband but later she delves into the past and finds that things were not as they appeared to be.

I loved that THE SECOND WIFE was told from two different viewpoints - Rebecca’s and Nicole’s - in the past and the present day.

The intriguing story-line held my attention from the start and with Sheryl Browne’s perfect pacing, I was totally absorbed all the way through, until the fulfilling conclusion. The author’s brilliant writing style was extremely appealing, expertly capturing the core of the scenes that I was imagining. The unique way with the narrative that Sheryl Browne possesses made this engrossing and enthralling thriller stand out from many of the others in this genre.

This dark and intense psychological thriller had me hooked and overall, THE SECOND WIFE was an extremely worthwhile read. If you’re a fan of psychological thrillers I strongly recommend reading this captivating book!

Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author, Sheryl Browne, for my complimentary copy of The Second Wife. My honest review is entirely voluntary.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

I have previously read and enjoyed other works by Sheryl Browne and so was excited to be given the opportunity to read hew newest offering.

The book started off well enough to draw me into the story and once there, I was intrigued enough to want to know how it panned out. However, it was laboursome. I wasn't enamoured with the characters. I found them to be unlikeable and unrealistic; in fact the whole situation was too far-fetched for me to even imagine.

I was glad to come to the end of this book but hadn't enjoyed the ride.

I very much enjoyed this novel and will definitely now be looking out for others by Sheryl Browne.

This was an entertaining and enjoyable read with many twists to keep me engaged. I did predict the big twist about Richard and Olivia’s real relationship but it didn’t spoilt my enjoyment. A satisfying ending too. I have already recommended this book to friends as a holiday read.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for an advance copy in return for my honest review. I have also posted this review on Goodreads.

3.25 stars rounded down to 3.*

This is the first book by Sheryl Browne that I've had the pleasure of reading. The Second Wife is a psychological thriller told from multiple viewpoints across alternating timelines.

The tale begins with Nicole drowning, searching for understanding while regretting her choices.

Flash backward, we meet Nicole, an artist recently divorced from an apparently controlling, abusive husband. As she finds her confidence she meets handsome, sensitive Richard who appears to be everything she's ever dreamed. Widowed and the single father to a 22-year old daughter, Richard is sensitive, thoughtful, doting and unbearably sexy. They rush headlong into marriage, but just minutes after they say their "I Do"s, Richard's daughter Olivia begins a series of strange, manipulative behaviors seemingly designed to fracture their marriage and make Nicole look crazy.

Flash forward, we meet Nicole's best friend and confidante Rebecca. Arriving from France for Nicole's funeral, having never met Richard nor Olivia, she tries to make sense of the man she meets and the stories she had heard from Nicole in her letters and texts. Rebecca finds herself attracted to Richard and quickly becomes entangled in the unusual relationship with Richard and Olivia.

I enjoyed the back and forth of this story. For me, it was a little too predictable. Perhaps I read too many psychological thrillers. I enjoyed the little twist at the end.

Would recommend to my friends who are fans of psychological thrillers.

*with thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.