Stories often surprise me, but The Third Mrs. Durst really surprised me. I love an excellent twist here and there. This is a dark menacing thriller about a young backwoods girl who escapes that life of extreme poverty. Instead, she becomes a model and attracts the attention of an older man, Mr. Durst. She wants the life that will come from being this rich man's wife. At least, that's what she thinks at first. He's not the same behind closed doors. He's every married woman's nightmare, the controlling abusive husband/stellar public citizen and man about town. How will she untie herself from this man? Well, I'm certainly not going to tell you that. This is an excellent read that will steal hours of your life before you realize it. So tense and taught and chilling! Read it! Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This just isn't for me.

Do I think some people are going to absolutely love this story? Definitely. Did I? No. It was a struggle to get through which is disappointing as the summary sounded amazing! I would pick the book up, put it down, and just forget about it for days. I'd pick it back up and... the writing style was just too simple for me. It felt rushed in the beginning and I just could not connect with the characters or the story. It just didn't feel like anything new or exciting for me.

That was a study in unrealiable narrators, unlikeable characters and misdirection. I slowly plod through the first half - not loving it, but not hating it. There was a lot of telling going on, but you don't know if what you're being told is right, because suddenly some important fact comes out of left field. With that being said, by the last third of this book, I was glued to the pages and I don't think I looked up even once. I was sitting at my kitchen table, and I realized that I felt I was there in the pages with them, and that doesn't happen often. The storyline is a bit farfetched, yet slightly brilliant at the same time...and there were a few things that caused me to heavily eyeroll. All in all, though, I was engaged and taken away, and that's always a good thing!

Wow, wow, wow!

The Third Mrs. Durst starts off with a young, runaway girl named Marlena. We follow her determined climb into success. Her traumatic push from girlhood to womanhood. And, her manipulative path into becoming the perfect wife. The perfect Mrs. Durst.

Micheal believes he has found the ideal candidate for his new wife. Innocent, alone, malleable Marlena. He controls all aspects of her life. He has a role for her to play and any misstep is something she pays dearly for. As the relationship progresses one thing becomes clear. Marlena's life has an end date and it's quickly approaching.

This is an intriguing game of cat and mouse in which you are never quite sure who is the predator and who is the prey.

I've read Aguirre before but it was a YA series of hers and The Third Mrs. Durst is such an exceptional departure from that - I honestly didn't expect this level of...well, extremely messed up. Sure didn't stop me from loving it. I'll say the beginning was a small struggle as it was difficult to build an emotional connection with Marlena. She's quite stark and bland until you hit about the 25% mark. From that point on the pace picks up and it's hard to set this one down.

It’s been a while since I’ve been genuinely intrigued by a domestic thriller but this one did not disappoint! Reminded me a little of Behind Closed Doors in some ways but with a great twist at the end that I didn’t expect! I’d recommend this to any of my reading friends

The third Mrs. DURST WAS A FAST PAST BOOK that grips you from the first page to the very last. Each page kept you on the edge of your seat.

This is the first book I read from this author and it wont be the last.
Thank you netgallery


Review
Country gals book blog

I just finished this ARC. I kept my Kindle under my pillow and when I woke up in the middle of the night I would grab it and read a few more chapters. I didn’t approach the book as a “who done it” and read it as an unfolding story. Then there would be some random detailing and I started to realize there was so much more coming. The characters are terrifyingly manipulative and frightening to think that people can be so ugly to the core over money and standings. It makes me feel a little like Pollyanna and quite naive. I can watch today’s news and see the corruption and coverups and the willingness to sell your soul for... well what exactly. What’s the price? Is it ever enough. The extremes that some will go to is a world I don’t understand and don’t want to really acknowledge because I am afraid of my own ability to think the best of people. This book will make you squirm and make you feel as if you need a good shower. There are plenty of twists and turns and questions along the way. I enjoyed the book but hated the story if that even makes sense. I need to go put on a Hallmark movie quickly!
#netgalley #midnightink

This novel is amazing! The plot was delivered perfectly- just enough details, just enough conversation, and just enough to keep you begging for more! And ending someone could only dream of, I was SO happy that Marlena gets what she deserves.

The driving point, for the third Mrs. Durst to act out her special plan, is dropped in tasteful morsels along the way, keeping you on edge to see what’s next. The definition of a page turner for sure, I cannot wait to purchase this and share it with my family and friends. One of the best written books I’ve read in a long time!

This story is in no way cheesy, predictable, cliche, or over the top. It’s everything you could want in a book- love, revenge, and an emotional roller coaster!

I received a free, advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest and fair review.

The beginning of the novel sets things up and introduces us to Marlena Altizer's young life. This part is somewhat tedious and hard to get through, but if you get about 20% in, then you will get hooked. Marlena hatches a revenge plan that is not altogether clear, but devious and dangerous. She hooks, lines and sinks Michael Durst, but not without risking both her and her sister's life. Marlena goes through a lot to get revenge on a man who stole her surrogate older sister's life. Some of it was far fetched but entertaining to read. Finally Marlena gets the upper hand. I wouldn't necessarily buy this book myself but if you want to read it, borrow from the library or wait for a sale.

Thank you to @netgalley and Midnight Ink for this free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was only three stars for me... I disliked the characters and there was no character development at all and even though I loved the writing I can't justify a higher rating
🔸I really loved the writing and the way I was hooked throughout the story
🔸I really didn't like any of the characters...
🔸The characters I thought were going to be good turned out bad and I honestly don't really know how I feel about it - it was a gripping story but there was just too much plotting for my liking, there was entirely a lot less truth than I wanted
🔸I didn't like the epilogue - that doesn't sit well with me at all

I got into this story right off the bat, but then it started to lose me to where I forwarded right to the end. It was just too predictable.
The story surrounds Marlena, a young poor but beautiful girl who runs away from home in order to try to make it rich by modeling. Along the way she meets Michael Durst, a wealthy businessman, ala "Christian Grey' type. Of course Marlena falls prey to Mr. Durst, eventually becoming his wife.
Where the story lost me was when I read how everyone told Marlena exactly what type of man Michael was (controlling, egotistical, violent) but she continued to ignore their warnings. It just started going the route of every other story of marital abuse to where I felt like I was reading a book I had already read. I felt like Marlena was made to just be this stupid girl who put money and power above her own safety and well being. I hated that she was made to be so powerless and dumb. Save your money. Just watch an episode of SVU or something instead. Same concept

I really enjoyed this book. It is not very "realistic", but it was a dark, enjoyable read. I liked the revenge aspect of it. I liked Marlena just for the simple fact she felt the need to avenge her old friend. It made me root for her. I think this is a great beach read for summer.

Wow, it seems like people either love or hate this book?!? I thought it was clever. Did it have some questionable happenings? Sure, but it’s fiction!

I knew why this was happening right from the beginning. If read a lot of thrillers then you will too. It didn’t distract me from wanting to see how the story would play out.

There are a lot of reviews that also talk about the sex in the book. I didn’t find it over the top, or dwelled upon really. Did it add much to the story? Not really, but it didn’t detract anything from it on my end anyway.

Probably my biggest issue with the book was the “swan song” at the end. It wasn’t necessary and took away from the story in my opinion. Regardless, I was very entertained by this book and would definitely read more by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Midnight Ink for a copy in exchange for a review.

From the blurb, I thought this book was about a young woman who was plucked from obscurity by an older, more sophisticated, wealthy man who turned out to be an abuser and then the young woman would rescue herself from the situation and take him down in the process. In reality, this book was anything but that. The main character, Marlena reveals about halfway through that she sought him out to avenge the first Mrs. Durst whom she knew as a sister even though she only lived with Marlena's family for a few years. Somehow, from a postcard sent by this sister saying her life was wonderful, Marlena gleans that Michael Durst was an abusive monster who arranged for the deaths of his first two wives. She grows up in some tiny little town in Kentucky where birth records are not really kept, but the public library has an ancient computer with an internet connection where she parlays her eighth grade education into learning all she can about this man before running off to Nashville of all places to become a model and catch his eye and then get revenge.

I wanted to like this book. I really did. Unfortunately, the story was too implausible, the characters were flat and the motivation for all of it was never clearly defined. Maybe if Marlena had a collection of letters sent home from Dee which detailed how she ended up being married to this man and the terror that ensued it would have added to the story. Other than the fact that he knows shady people and hires out his abuse, Michael is a paper doll cut out of a villain.

I think I kept reading in the hopes that the author would somehow save this story with a good flashback or something, but that never happened.

This is similar to The Last Mrs Parrish. That was my favourite book of all time. The third mrs Durst is a fascinating insight into hillbilly America, which I would now like to know more about. The sign of a good book is one which awakens your curiosity. The title is clever and the characters are well rounded, deep and multi-layered. The relationship between Marlena, Vin and Jenny is pure and erotic in its context which is a testament to the authors excellent character development. Excellent book

I was happy to get a copy of this book and decided to dive right in. It was a quick read and I enjoyed the book. That being said, it wasn’t a book that “I couldn’t put down”. I was waiting for something to happen but nothing really happened. It kind of dragged on. It wasn’t a book that I would give up on but it wasn’t a favorite of mine or very memorable.

Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this book for honest review.

I thought this sounded like it would be very good, but, honestly,I didn't like it very much. They was no attachment to the main character. She wasn't very likeable. I think if the author had gone into her past in more depth, and explained in more detail the relationship with Durst and Deb, there would have been more empathy for Marlena. And she seemed, in some ways, like she was a bad as him. The ending had a little twist to it, but almost like, really? Too much too late and not really surprising.

The Third Mrs. Durst is diabolical- the first Mrs. Durst and the second Mrs. Durst are dead.

Very suspenseful novel, with of course a twist that I won’t reveal here. Of course, Mr. Durst is the villain, but what about the third Mrs. Durst, who, at first, comes across as sweet and naive?

Nothing is quite as it seems in this novel - exactly how I like it!

“Some people just need killing.”.... yeah, with an opener like that, you know where this one is headed. Excellent character development, even better plot, with corners and turns you may see coming, but have no idea where they lead until you arrive. I could not put this one down, lost many hours of sleep, and it was worth every word. I thoroughly enjoyed Aguirre/Marlena’s voice- she is sarcastic, witty and refreshing, this was a twisted, suspenseful and satisfying story that you have to read.

The Third Mrs. Durst by, Ann Aguirre is a fast moving, well written Mystery Thriller. I consider it a definite 4 star book. I was completely hooked by the time I had finished the second paragraph. The characters fascinated me with their back stories. I always seem to love stories that contain narcissistic, abusive, and psychopathic men. Thank goodness I didn’t marry one. I am so grateful for NetGalley for allowing me the
privilege of reading a copy of this mesmerizing book in exchange for my truthful review.