Member Reviews
This book felt like I was reading the same thing every chapter: Diane is tired, she sees someone stalking her, she hears voices, she does something stupid, she gets drunk, she can’t sleep....repeat! I eventually skipped to the end just to find out what happened because I couldn’t handle reading the same thing over and over. Not a good book; even the ending was anticlimactic. |
I could not get into this book so I did not finish reading it. The characters were not fully filled out, and I really didn't care about any of them. What I did read was kind of predictable actually, in that Lifetime Television Movie for Women kind of way. |
*Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.* What a deliciously creepy novel about the evil people can do to those they claim to love. Diane seems to have it all - an adorable child, a loving husband, a comfortable home. However, something is not quite what it seems and Diane begins to realise that she can't trust anyone in her life. Diane begins to wonder if she can even trust herself as she starts to hear a mysterious baby crying in her house. She is determined, however, to discover just who is playing games with her and sets out to do some amateur sleuthing. A thoroughly enjoyable read that kept me captivated until the very end. This is the first of Keogh's novels that I have read and look forward to exploring some of her previous books. |
Diane has a loving husband an adorable daughter and appears to have a happy content life but is actually recovering from a break down and is still missing parts of her memory.Soon Diane starts noticing strange things around her and and a mystery stalker that keeps showing up making Diane believe that she might be losing her mind. The Housewife by Valerie Keogh is really good psychological fast addictive read which I enjoyed but felt the ending was a little rushed. Overall a fun entertaining read. I would like to thank Bookouture & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review. |
Emma S, Reviewer
This is a real page-turner of a book, I could not put it down! Be warned, don’t read this unless you have time to just devour it. Every time I had to stop reading it, it was at the back of my mind, as I tried to figure it out. The plot is very tightly woven, with a pace that just builds and builds, leading to unbearable tension. I really couldn’t figure out what was happening to Diane. Who could she trust? Was it all in her mind? It’s a book to keep you totally gripped until the very last page. Completely compelling and addictive. This is one I’ll be recommending to anyone who likes a good psychological thriller. Compulsive reading. |
Christine R, Reviewer
With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the Arc, which I enjoyed reading. This was a very clever psychological thriller with an excellent storyline and it isn’t until the end, that the reader founds out who is to blame for what has happened. Highly recommended. |
Cant say this book really grabbed me. Just couldnt kerp my interest. It just seemed flat. That said, others seem to really enjoy it, so I wouldnt not recommend. |
This book had a mysterious vibe to it. It had you wondering if your suspicions were correct. It was somewhat repetive in areas. This book still kept my interest and had me wanting to know more. |
The housewife was a much slower book to read. Even though I did enjoy it, i had a hard time staying focused in the novel. Country gals book blog |
Exciting read and fast paced. Very easy to read and very enjoyable. Interesting and keeps your interest throughout |
While there were some unexpected twists, the story felt shallow and underdeveloped. The premise also won't be anything new to fans of domestic suspense. It was a fast read, which is nice sometimes and had a satisfying ending. Just needed a little more to be a higher rating for me. Thank you to Bookouture for the ARC. |
Brid C, Reviewer
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this arc. Diane is just an ordinary housewife with a little girl. She recently had a breakdown, but is recovering well, or is she?? She has lost her short term memory leading up to the breakdown. But suddenly she is being followed by a strange woman and starts hearing a child crying in her home. Or is she imagining it all. Added to that her husband has become distant and is not the loving man she married. Just what is going on?? Who can she trust anymore?? Highly recommend it. |
I really enjoyed this book! I do enjoy books that delve into psychological trauma and could connect with Dianes frustrations and constant self doubt and questions. I love the slow unfolding of the story, trying to figure out who this woman stalker is. The domestic nightmare of betrayal that ultimately ends with heartbreak. I felt Diannes compete devestation as her memory comes back and she realises who the the stalker is and what the awful thing that happened in the lounge was. I do feel she could have been developed into a slightly more likeable character - I so wanted her to confront her husband, but also understand her frality probably stopped that. I think the reference to antidressants and alcohol etc all the time was hammered home a little too much - after all she would have been desperate to keep her daughter and I feel she wouldnt )or shouldn;t) have done anything to jeopardise this. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of the book in return for an honest review. |
I did enjoy this - and would probably give it a 3.5. Where it fell down for me was the charecters were a little unfinished at times. I loved the premise - and the fact that Diane recently released from a psychiatric hospital after a breakdown comes home to her husband and young daughter. She soon realised things aren’t quite right, her husband more controlling and she keeps forgetting things, or does she? Thankfully she fights back, and that was worth reading it for! Love a bit of cheeky revenge! Would recommend. |
Staying at home taking care of the kids can drive you a little crazy but this is what happens when things get extreme. Hearing things, struggling with reality are all quite unexpected. Keeps you guessing until the end. |
Wanted to love it but just couldn't. Diane is wife to Paul and Mother to Emma. Early in the book we learn that Diane has recently come home from an institution after some kind of breakdown, the details of which begin to unfold as the book progresses. I was so torn between loving and hating this book. There were a couple of nights where I read far too long as I just couldn't put it down, wanting to know what would happen next, I enjoyed the writing style and the intrigue around who Diane could and couldn't trust. But I felt that some of the reactions and events within the book were unrealistic and just wouldn't have played out in real life. When the ending came, I was almost glad the book was over. Worth a read and would definitely read more by this author but this one just missed the mark, I'm afraid. |
The Housewife is anything but a story built around the life and times of a typical housewife. Valerie Keogh brings us Diane, wife of Paul, a couple living what should have been comfortably in middle-class London. It brings to mind the old adage 'Marry in haste, repent in leisure', and this marriage is a classic example of the same. Paul is set in his ways, very controlling in the running of the house and the marriage and the care of their three-year-old daughter Emma. Diane, though independent and carefree when the couple met, married and moved Diane from Bristol to London is, during their fourth year together, struggling. She cries easily, has many missing blanks in her memories over the last year, a tendency to over-react to Paul's criticism, confusion about the events of the last year and her six weeks under care at a treatment center, and a tendency to drink a little too much wine. Paul is obviously unhappy, nit-picking about their home and Emma's care, burying himself in his work, making time at home only for the child he so obviously loves. As long as Diane keeps the laundry up, the house clean, and supper on the table in time for the TV news Paul can tolerate Jo's presence. What will he do if she can not continue to get it together enough to take care of Emma and the house? Is he seeing someone else? Is he trying to drive her crazy so he can divorce her and get full custody of Emma? Jo knows that she has to fill in the blanks in her mind. When she asks Paul for answers, he just repeats the advice of the professionals who had her under care gave to him with her release- the memories would return with less damage to her psyche if that happened naturally, as Spontaneous Recovery. But Jo knows she is under deadline with Pauls' patience, that she is being shadowed by a woman she doesn't know, that Paul is spending too much time on the phone in his home office. That office he now keeps locked when he isn't in it. She might be paranoid but 'they' are out to get her. Who can she count on? The tension stays at warp speed during this psychological thriller. I am pleased to recommend to friends and family. I received a free electronic edition of this psychological novel from Netgalley, Valerie Keogh, and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. |
Diane has the perfect life. She met and married Paul, the perfect man. They moved into the perfect home. She has a perfect little girl named Emma. Then why is the perfect life falling apart .... why did Diane have a breakdown .... why has her husband changed? And, why can't she remember any of the events that led to her breakdown and hospital stay? It has been month since she was released from the hospital and Diane is determined that life get back to normal. So, when Paul tells her that Emma has been accepted at a nursery school, she decides to take a volunteer position. On her very first day at the charity shop, she recognizes a customer - but where does she know this woman from? Soon she is seeing the woman everywhere and is convinced that she is being stalked. Then she starts hearing a baby crying and small flashes of what .... memories? She can't tell Paul .... he will think that she is hallucinating .... or is he the one behind it all? And why does she have such horrible thoughts when she enters the room that she used to adore? I received an ARC of this book and was liking it okay - until the end. It was going along at a good pace and all of sudden, it was over, solved and wrapped up with a nice little bow in just a few pages. For me, the ending was just not realistic at all. 2 stars because of the poor ending to this book. |
Valerie Keogh enthralled me with this truly exciting psychological thriller it was an emotional and of a ride from start to finish. With more twists than a helter skelter I couldn't turn the pages fast enough and the ending blew me away - I most definitely did not see that coming. This is a must read for all fans of this genre well deserved five stars. |
Laura B, Reviewer
Diane is recovering from a breakdown. She doesn’t know what happpened as she has amnesia and the doctors want to wait for her memory to come back naturally. Her husband is being supportive but is obviously frustrated at her lack of progress. She decides to work voluntarily in a charity shop while her daughter goes to nursery. On her first day, a woman comes in and leaves abruptly. After that Diane sees her everywhere: is the woman a stalker or is it all in her imagination? Diane starts to doubt her sanity. She starts hearing a baby crying. She is drinking heavily. She thinks her husband is having an affair. Who can she trust? This is an incredibly powerful read. The first chapter charts Diane’s whirlwind romance, marriage and pregnancy. It makes for difficult reading to know what she has given up to be with the man that she loves. The disintegration of Diane’s apparently perfect life is heartbreaking to read. As a reader, we are invited into Diane’s mind as she tries to work out whether she is really experiencing the sights and sounds that torment her. The wonderful thing about this book is we are left just as confused as she is, jumping to conclusions and being paranoid about the motives of others. I did guess the big plot reveal at the end of the book and felt very pleased with myself for working it out. My only criticism is that I didn’t like the epilogue as I felt that Diane acted out of character. I love Valerie’s previous book (check out my review!) and am looking forward to the next! |








