Marlena is the wife of a very wealthy, very powerful man. He showers her with expensive gifts and clothing, but is it worth dealing with his bad side? She quickly finds out he wasn’t jut married before, but married twice, and both wives passed away. Were their deaths really as they seemed? Her only escape from this Cinderella nightmare may be death.

I feel like there is a new thriller in town! I have read several books with similar themes recently. I won’t say what it is because I don’t want to spoil-but I’m loving them! This book kept my guessing and on the edge of my seat wondering if Marlena was going to escape this terrible man.

While the actual premise is very cool - original and suspense building to the end, I wish there was more explanation as to how they pulled it off in the end - its so abrupt that it takes away from some of the suspense, but overall an enjoyable book that was a quick read - great for the beach!

I liked this book, but it definitely had its faults. There was just a whole lot of nothing happening at the beginning of the book and then the end had some pretty improbable events (or told of some very improbably events from the past).

The plot, of a woman marrying a wealthy man even though he was abusive, had a lot more promise than was fulfilled. The wife appears to be trying to get information that will bring him down, but, again, that doesn't happen.

The author seems to be trying to have a big twist at the end, a la "Gone Girl". That failed miserably to me.

Still, I liked it. I am torn between 3 and 4 stars.

This book started out rather slow for me and I think that maybe only my love for other books by Ann Aguirre kept me going. I'm glad I stuck it out, though, because when this book picked up, it turned into a bonkers fun fest. I would encourage anyone who starts this book and wonders where it's going to keep with it, because the payoff is worth making it through the first third of the novel. In retrospect, it's easy to see how the small clues add up to something larger. Ms. Aguirre is a deft plotter and juggled several vital plot points with a delicate hand. I highly recommend this book to lovers of mystery and of characters who play the long game.

Marlena was one of the most interesting characters I’ve ever read about. Learning about her and how her mind worked while reading this book was just as entertaining as the plot.

While I do think that some aspects of this plot have been done before this is certainly a new take on the story, one that I really enjoyed.

While there were certainly parts of this book that were difficult to read , Michael Durst is. Terrible human being, they were necessary to understand what Marlena was going through and why she was doing what she was. This was certainly a thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat!

This was a well-written thriller I thoroughly enjoyed. I loved Marlena as a protagonist & am interested to see more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been trying to read this one for a week now and it’s been a struggle to finish — and I’m so disappointed because the premise sounded great! Marlena leaves her small town and druggie mother to model and make something of herself. She catches the eye of Michael Durst and she becomes his third wife — despite the fact he’s killed his previous two. But he’s rich so that clearly makes up for everything else!! He’s controlling, manipulative, abusive...you name it. Marlena tries to come off as accommodating and naive but she’s also conniving and pulling the strings herself. Overall I found the writing poor, very little character development, and main characters I did not like at all. It was one twist after another and I just wanted it to end. Very much a plot-driven story but it was just too over the top for me. Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to review.

This book is so good. I read this book in just several hours because I just couldn’t put to down and the ending was amazing. I really didn’t see it coming. I highly recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book and provide my honest review.

This was a solid mystery thriller which I enjoyed.
The books was very plot heavy which was a little distracting, there could have been more character development, but overall I enjoyed the book.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Three and a half
This is by an author I used to associate primarily with sci fi so I was interested in what she would bring to this more suspense driven genre.
Mrs Durst is not at all what the world perceive her to be. She plays the innocent, manipulated pawn and in reality she’s pulling all the strings. I did have huge amounts of sympathy for her as her Svengali type husband is absolutely vile ! This isn’t a happy ever after romance she has bought into but an abusive relationship that just escalated with surprising alacrity. Yet as much as I knew her husband deserved all that was coming to him at times it was still difficult to imagine exactly how he would get ‘his’ as the author increasingly shocked this reader with time lapses . If I’m brutal I didn’t particularly even like the protagonist Marlena very much but the violence and actions in play in this book were truly offensive and definitely not acceptable so obviously I did want her to prevail. There was a point when the author fooled me and I actually thought Marlena was human and cared about someone yet I was only to realise that she was every bit as manipulative as her narcissistic, psychopath of a husband . Truly Marlena is an amoral , vengeful heroine and I’d like to say I hadn’t worked out the twist at the end but sadly the author laid out breadcrumbs that were very easy to follow. I am a little disappointed that I wasn’t surprised but frankly I’m more disappointed that I never really came to actually like Marlena. I think this book will divide opinions but I am glad that I read it even though my rating might not seem to support that.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

I don't usually don't read suspense thrillers But I have enjoyed Ms. Aguirre's teen reads and after reading a friends review this solidified my resolve that this might actually be a thriller I would enjoy. I was not wrong.
Marlena our MC has not had a good life and after catching the eye of a handsome and rich Mr. Durst she becomes his third wife the previous two are dead. Marlena thinks she's in a Cinderella story or is she?
The third Mrs. Durst is so much more than I thought it was going to be. A woman trying to get away from her abusive husband, It headed in a direction I did not see coming especially given the synopsis . That's what I love. I find in so many thrillers or mysteries I figure out the mystery way before hand and it takes away from my enjoyment. I don't want to give too much away but if your not usually a thriller/mystery fan I suggest you give this one a try you will not be disappointed.

Overall this was a fantastic read filled with plot twists that will please mystery and non mystery fans alike.

3.5 stars, rounded up.

I did enjoy this book throughout and was eager for the conclusion, however I had expected it to be more along the lines of Behind Closed Doors and/or The Next Mrs. Parrish...however, it fell short for me. I feel like the "twist" was revealed way too early in this book and that it may have been more enjoyable to have had an explosion of an ending rather than being in the know the majority of the way through.

Special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

A heroine breaking out of poverty, a rich man who is more than he seems, and a very long plan. Marlena is bent on creating a life for herself, and Michael just thinks about creating the perfect wife. But both are way more than they seem, and this short thriller is a fast and fun summer read.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a digital arc of The Third Mrs Durst by Ann Aguirre.

This book originally started off as a fast paced, unputdownable read for me. Marlena left her small town, her druggie mother, her multiple siblings from multiple fathers to make a new life for herself. Marlena and her new friend Jenny became models until Marlena managed to win the attention of Michael Durst and become his third wife. But what happened to the first two wives of this man who insisted on controlling everything from what she ate to who she was friends with?

Quotes like the following had me quickly turning the pages:

“I chose the road that looked prettiest from a distance, but I didn’t know then—sometimes the horizon is bright because it’s on fire.”

“In those early days, Michael was like a genie who existed to grant my wishes. But wishes are never granted without a hidden price, just as the most beautiful roses have barbs the better to bleed you dry.”

Somewhere along the way though, the book fell flat for me. I don’t know if it was the unexpected LGBT angle the story took. Or the confusion over who Dee was. Or the added sexual manipulation she used with her bodyguard Vin, but somewhere along the way I put the book down.

I have finally finished it now, and while I enjoyed it, there’s shock twist after shock twist towards the end, I would have definitely enjoyed it more if I hadn’t taken such a big break from reading the book.

A solid 3⭐️ read.

This was a quick easy read, but packed full of twists and surprises. The biggest surprise appears when you least expect it. The characters in this book are strong. The domestic darkness of this book is disturbing, but I found that it gave the story more depth. And when the villain gets his "just dessert," you're left cheering for the victim. A wild ride to be sure. The best part was that I wasn't able to figure it out. If you like suspense, this book is for you.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for this ARC.

Wow. I started this at 1 and finished it by 5:30. I could NOT put it down! I hardly took in a full breath. The writing! The characters! The storyline! The TWIST! I loved this. I wish I could eloquently put into words how awesome this book was but I just - wow! I loved it.

Marlena is a model from very poor roots. She meets an older rich gentleman Mr. Michael Durst. They marry and things are not good. Michael is a wonderful husband in the open but behind closed doors is a completely different story. Marlena must save herself before Michael destroys her. This was a good cat and mouse story with quite a few twists and turns that keep the reader engaged and reading. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

"Some people just need killing" - An interesting and intriguing beginning to a rather uneven and plot driven story. There is a ton of action making this a quick read although implausible.

I found this book to be very slow, and ultimately dragged out. I found it couldn't hold my attention and it was, to me, like Fifty Shades of Grey without the romantic element. The storyline itself felt tired to me and it felt like I had read books with similar plots in the past. I couldn't figure out who Dee was when she was mentioned and had to do a search on her, eventually (myself) coming to the conclusion that she was Marlena's older sister? I couldn't connect with Marlena to empathise or root for her in her ultimate "mission" if you like, and eventually I got a bit bored reading it and didn't finish it.

Thank you for the opportunity in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to Midnight Ink and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quick read, and a bit of a disappointment. I was expecting a thriller that would pit two intelligent minds against one another, what I got was a cliché-driven account of a young woman's rise out of poverty and into a loveless marriage to a controlling man who has killed his previous wives. Yep, you read that right, she said "yes" to this guy. Both of them are extremely unlikeable, but the storyline loaded with stereotypes (think sleazy Christian Grey - not that I 've read the books, but it comes to mind) just asks the reader to suspend belief a few times too often. The ending fell flat - the author tried to hit us with some big twists, which were not twisty AT ALL.