WOW! I knew some of the twists that were going to happen...like the relationship between the two main characters. What I did NOT see coming was the ending. FINALLY a good revenge book. I loved it. It was an easy read and quite enjoyable. I could have done with a bit more details of the other women, but other then that,,,a GREAT Thriller!

This is the story of close friends Nicole and Rebecca. Nicole’s last relationship was an abusive one, but when she meets Richard, he’s just so perfect that when he asks she agrees to marry him. One day, Rebecca receives a phone call from Nicole’s husband, Richard who tells her that Nicole is dead, a tragic suicide. Rebecca can’t believe that Nicole would ever kill herself, but when reads the last few letters that her friend has sent her, she begins to wonder if she really knew her at all. As she gets closer to Richard, Rebecca vows to discover the truth about Nicole’s death.

My second book by this author, despite her having written many more than two! The first book I read, The Babysitter, was a dark, twisted psychological thriller, and I’m pleased to say this one follows it perfectly with the same kind of intense suspense that this writer is obviously so good at! The story is told from different characters points of view with individual chapters devoted to them. It also swaps from Rebecca in the present day to Nicole’s life, sometime earlier when she first meets Richard right up to her death.

Nicole is fresh out of an abusive relationship and because of this she obviously needs time to trust another man. When she meets Richard, he just seems to win her trust immediately with his caring and loving demeanour, not to mention his devilishly handsome good looks! Whilst I liked Richard, surely no man can be that perfect and that automatically pricked up my ‘uh-oh, there’s something not right here’ detector! Nicole was a lovely character and if you didn’t feel for her at the beginning, as her story continues, you’ll certainly come to feel for her by the end. On the other hand, Rebecca was a character that I couldn’t make my mind up with! One minute, I liked her and felt her grief was as sincere as it should be just having lost her best friend, the next minute she’s getting, both physically and emotionally, closer to Richard, her best friend’s husband. At first I couldn’t work out if she was just the worst best friend ever, but as their stories moved on I began to understand her reasoning!

The one character which I passionately disliked was Olivia, Richard’s daughter. She was so venomous in how she treated Nicole, my protectiveness for a fragile Nicole was raised to such a point that I wanted to knock Olivia into next week, with Richard following closely behind for letting her behave in that way! The story though was one dark and twisted tale of lies, betrayal and friendship. It had me going through a range of different emotions as each page turned – shock, disgust, sadness to name but a few. Whilst I guessed how some parts of the storyline would turn out, others crept up on me unnoticed until the big reveal. It was a gripping page-turner with so much suspense and tension it left me wanting more. Would definitely recommend!

When I first started this, I was afraid it wasn't going to be my cup of tea despite the enticing description. Mostly, that was because each chapter is told from the perspective of a different character - a popular technique, of course, but not a favorite of mine. And because the chapters are exceptionally short, I expected the journey to be a choppy one.

But wait, there's more!

And guess what: It's all good. The plot twists held my attention every page of the way; and yes, those frequent switchbacks actually made me eager to move along as well (let's just say that while I'm disappointed that "my" NFL team didn't make the playoffs for this year's Super Bowl, it did free up more time for me to plow through the last half of this book without stopping).

Here's the scoop: Rebecca and Nicole are longtime best friends; when Nicole dies - her death ruled a suicide - Rebecca of course comes to the funeral. But she's got an even more important agenda; bolstered by messages over the past year or so from Nicole, she's convinced that she did not kill herself. Rebecca is aware, for instance, that Nicole's on-the-surface perfect second husband, Richard, has a grown daughter, Olivia, who lives with them and is at best snarky toward Nicole. As for Richard, well, let's just say blood is thicker than water. So on the pretense of looking for a new home in the U.K., Rebecca decides that the best way to see what's available - and ferret out the truth about Nicole - is to accept the handsome and charming Richard's offer to stay with him and Olivia (if you suspect something else might come of that, you'd be right - no big surprise there, for goodness sake).

In all honesty, I wasn't able to work up sympathy or empathy for a single character; I'm totally unable to identify with females who refuse to get up and run when it's clear they're being emotionally or physically abused in any way). Rather, my interest was in riding the whole thing out: What really happened to (and by) whom, and who, if anyone, "won" out. And boy, what a ride it was.

So if you're looking for an easy-to-read book of head games, don't hesitate to give this one a try. Meanwhile, thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with an advance copy to read and review.

Absolutely loved this book! Couldn't put it down until it was finished. Will definitely be recommending to customers at my work!

This book is a dark, tense thriller that has an ending you weren't expecting. I read a lot of thrillers and really enjoyed this story, especially the lead female characters. A great read!

This was a great read. I thought it was going to be fairly predictable story but wow it then threw in some wicked twists. A story of love, family, friendships and secrets. Gripping and dark set in a spectacular location.

I couldn’t put this book down! It was gripping from start to finish. I was absolutely gutted at 2 am this morning when I realised I still had 30% left to read and there was no way I could stay up any longer to finish it and had to go to sleep! As soon as I woke this morning, though, I devoured the rest!
The twists are so shocking you just don’t expect the outcome. I thought I had it all figured out, but I was wrong and taken by surprise by the ending!
The switching of characters per chapter really kept you hooked, as the past story in Nicole’s voice was the most compelling, as you knew she had the answers to what had happened to her. However, when Olivia and Richard’s voices were also given chapters of their own, the story really enthralled you.
It is so well-written, I thought I enjoyed ‘The Babysitter by Sheryl Browne’, but this surpasses that by a mile! She has outdone herself!
A five star read that I would definitely recommend!

This was a twisty psychological thriller. I found the beginning a little rushed and unrealistic but I felt it got better the more I read on. It was definitely not boring and there was lots going on.

Thank you to Bookouture for the arc of this book.
Well what an ending!😱
This book grips you from the get go, and when you think you’ve worked out what’s going on, Bam! You’re wrong oh so wrong.
Well worth a read!

This is the first book of Sheryl Browne that I have read, and find her writing to be very good. If you like suspense novels, this is a great book to read – it has an interesting story, is fast paced and keeps the suspense well into the story.

Rebecca and Nicole are good friends and constantly keep in touch. Nicole has been in an abusive first marriage, and is happy to find Richard who in contrast comes across as extremely caring and very much in love with her. While David is considerate with her at all times, her relation with her step daughter Olivia is strained.

Rebecca is shocked when she hears that Nicole has committed suicide. As she attends the funeral and meets with David, she hears that Nicole had slipped into a major depression. Nicole had been communicating with Rebecca over text and email, and while she clearly had been unhappy about many things, Rebecca cannot understand how she came to take her own life. Rebecca is keen to understand more of why Nicole got to this point, and over time develops a close relation with David. David is extremely sensitive and considerate, and both he and Olivia welcome Rebecca into their lives.

While I did have a faint inkling of some aspects of the plot, the suspense breaks at just about the right time in the later part of the book. The story is told in two timelines from the perspectives of the four principal characters – Rebecca, Nicole, David & Olivia. It shuffles between the past and present, progressing to convergence very well near the end. The story could have been crisper though, and the last sections could have been better.

I certainly recommended reading this book if you like suspense – a very well written story!

My rating: 4.25 / 5.

I was ready to quit this book at 20% in. Thankfully, I read some reviews and noted many readers felt similarly in the first half so I kept plugging along, and I'm glad I did.

I still have a lot of issues with the first half, particularly in the main character Nicole. Recently out of an abusive marriage to a misogynist, she seems to have met the man of her dreams in Richard. But once they're married, things take a dark turn. Yawn, right? I've read so many thrillers like that.

My predictions made early on were partially correct, though I couldn't have imagined the degree of twisted crap going on in that house! Things started shifting and all the pieces began coming together around the 60% point. Then the final 30% flew by, keeping me awake at night!

The writing is fairly simple and the characters are unrealistic. The benefits of that are a story that moves with a super fast pace and doesn't require a lot of intellectual investment from the reader. There is always a time and place for entertaining novels like this. Although I will add, there's quite a bit of grossly graphic sex stuff that didn't feel necessary to the plot.

I've received this book for an honest review. Gripped me from the start. Though a little predictable, it still kept my interest and still had the twists I love. Recommended to all those who like domestic thrillers. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Second Wife by Sheryl Browne.
Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy,
This was a hard one. I could not connect with anyone. It was just a novel I have seemed to read many times.
I did read it to the end to give an honest review. It could have been so much more and just seemed empty of any standout. moments for me.

I couldn’t get through this one. The plot was one I’ve read many times in the past with a twist here and there. Yes I ended up going to the last several chapters and it didn’t get better.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me the arc for an honest review

A phenomenal psychological thriller I couldn't put down! I carried this everywhere I went and to everything I did. I couldn't wait to read the next exciting, scary part.
Nichole found the man of her dreams, Richard. Too bad he has a manipulative, conniving bitch of a daughter!
And after being so loving and sweet and gracious, now he doubts everything she tells him about his daughter, Olivia trying to break them up. Is she going nuts, imagining things? Thank goodness she has her dear and best friend Rebecca to share what's happening with.
Some how this dream man, marriage, home, life, is turning into a frightening nightmare. She'll need her friend to help her.
Exciting, titillating, surprising!!!
5 Stars

This book was really good! I had to find out what happened and when I did oh my gosh!! Rebecca and Nicole are best friends and they promised to stay that way forever. When Rebecca receives a phone call from Nicole’s new husband Richard , and he tells her that Nicole has committed suicide by drowning herself in a river close to her home she’s shocked. Rebecca shows up at Nicole’s funeral and starts to fall for Richards charm , his grief and and of course his handsome looks. When she meets his daughter Olivia and starts to hear about how Nicole was before her death she starts to wonder what was going on because the way Olivia is describing Nicole did not sound like her friend. As Rebecca gets closer and closer to Richard she sees why Nicole was so in love with him. Rebecca is determined to find out why her normally happy friend would end her life. The book is told in two different times Nicole’s leading up to her death and Rebecca’s in present time. Rebecca soon uncovers things about Richard that horrify her and maybe he isn’t the perfect man he portrays so she keeps digging and the more she uncovers the more she realizes that maybe Nicole hadn’t killed her self, and where does his daughter Olivia factor in all of this? I seriously was taken on a crazy thriller ride while reading this book the ending was so shocking!

This was an interesting concept, but the execution reminded me so much of The Wife Between Us that I found it hard to finish. The characters felt very typecast, and I had a struggle of a time trying to see it through to the end. If you haven't read similar this might be enjoyable, but otherwise the plot seems like half a dozen other "evil wife evil husband" secret books out there.

Really enjoyed this book. Although going back and forward in time it was easy to follow. There were twists along the way keeping me guessing as to what had happened to Nicole. Interesting dynamics between “ father and his daughter Olivia” . Olivia presents as a really spoilt brat craving her fathers attention. Well written and hard to put down. Just as you think you have got it something occurs to challenge that thought.

The second wife#Netgalley
Wow it’s definitely a good book to read I genuinely found it difficult to put down, living in the perfect house but is everything as it seems not, it’s a powerful book of mind games yet all she wanted to be there to comfort Richard and to be loved. By him, it’s becomes a book that in reality is first marriage wasn’t as perfect as Richard wanted everyone to believe. Well to find out you will just have to read the book, I would recommend you do read it

The character of Nicole is just so weak and doubting - maybe she reminds me too much of myself that I just couldn't continue.. Olivia is a world class witch with a B and Richard is a douche...I couldn't finish it