This book was griping from the beginning. Lots of family drama, and who doesn't like that? Rose returns home after her husband's death. She felt she needed to confront her past in order for her to move on with her life. In order to do this she needed to deal with her father and her sister.

The audiobook was great, and the narrator did an excellent job telling the story as well as keeping a clear distinction between all characters.

The expression “writers write about what they know” was the undoing of Rose Yates.
   A crime writer, she and her young son returns to her family home after the suicide death of her husband but this return to NH brings no comfort to Rose. Instead, she returns to a family of suppressed secrets and lies. Her father, a demanding and undemonstrative man, and a sister with issues that make her the dream patient of any psychiatrist, provide no comfort in her time of mourning.
   A new detective decides to take a new look into her husbands death, not convinced it was as cut and dry when the case was closed. He turns to the crime books of Rose Yates and discovers similarities in what she wrote and what happened in her real life. He becomes convinced she was involved with SOME crime.
   The reader of the story provided a vocal variation that allowed you to put an imaginary face with each character.
   A chilling story well told.

So, I did not like the first part of this book. It felt like a lot of the same information being repeated and like nothing much was happening, but then all of a sudden I got into it. Once the plot started moving along a bit, things started revealing themselves, and we got to see past events as well, I was constantly engaged.

Without spoilers, I can’t say much, but I will say that I think this is much more of a character book than I originally thought. The title (which is not my favorite) doesn’t do the true nature of the book justice. On the surface you have a woman who has, you guessed it, a dead husband. She’s being looked at because he died in a way that was written about in a book she wrote. But there is much more there. There’s a real depth to her character and the relationships she has in her life. Those relationships and not the event of her husband dying are really what shape this book and make it what it is.

Why 3 instead of 4 stars when I feel a solid 3.5 on this? It’s because I felt there were a number of subplots there started without much continuation or backstory. In the end, I still had questions other than what would happen next for the main characters.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Carter Wilson for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was great! The narrator did an excellent job reading with emotion which really added to the story. This is a typical thriller with lots of twists and turns and an ending that was so left field I didn’t see it coming! I had the audiobook on basically any spare second I had to listen and found myself not wanting to turn it off. The relationships between all of the characters was also top notch.

The thriller and suspense aspect of this book was super good! I think it was a little slow at first but once it got going it was hard to put down becuase I needed to know what happened next! I deff recommend

Thought it was an okay book. Story was lacking and somewhat predictable. Nothing that suspenseful or “thriller”. Great narration though!

When Rose Yates' husband is found dead, an accident from mixing alchohol and prescription medication, she comes to the attention of Detective Colin Pearson. He is sure that Rose killed her husband as that is the method one of her characters uses to kill someone in one of her books. As he begins to dig into her life, he also finds out that a teenage boy disappeared from her town twenty years earlier and has never been found. Rose fled the town and to Colin, that is because she is responsible for his disappearance and probably his death. Rose and her son, Max, reluctantly return to Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin to try and deal with their loss and start living again. Max does not have it easy and I felt terrible for him and the bullying and teasing he was subject to. Who killed Riley Yates, or was it murder at all? What happened to Caleb, twenty years ago? Why did Rose flee Whitefish Bay?

I enjoyed this fast paced suspenseful story, up until a point. There were hints along the way of family secrets, instability and lies about what happened twenty years earlier and Carter Wilson fed us that information along the way, so I easily figured out what happened then. The rest of the story, what happened to Rose's husband, was not as easily figured out. When we find out what happened and why, it was a bit of a shocker. There is a showdown between Rose and her sister Cora that had my heart beating wildly. The final twist was excellent, but then, the story just ended. I know, maybe it is just me, but I like to know that things are tied up and it didn't happen. I guess we just have to decide for ourselves what happened to Rose and Max. The audiobook was narrated by Erin deWard . She has a pleasant voice to listen to and her expression, emotion and tone were wonderful. This was more of a dramatic reading than a performance, which I enjoyed as she didn't try to sound like all the various characters. There is nothing I like worse than a female doing terrible male voices.

In this novel we have a rather dysfunctional family, a mysterious crime from the past, and a detective who is determined to get to the bottom of things.
This is a tense filled thriller that I found to be disturbing and exciting.

The primary point of view in the story is that of Rose Yates. Rose is from an affluent family originally, but has been living apart from them throughout her adult life. As the story begins, Rose and her eleven-year-old son are headed back to her family home following the sudden death of Rose’s husband. Rose sees the return to her father’s home as a last resort. She is completely out of any other viable options or she would not be returning. Why? The reasons are slowing revealed throughout the novel.

On the other hand, we are following the point of view of Detective Colin Pearson, who has only been recently promoted to detective and landed some not-quite-complete cases from the retiring detective before him. One of those cases is the death of Rose’s husband. Pearson’s detective instincts tell him there is more to be learned after seeing the rather cursory interview previously conducted. Rose knows much more than she has revealed so far. Though she has returned to her family home in New Hampshire, she is not so far away that Pearson can’t dig bit deeper into her affairs.

Readers will soon understand the mysterious event that occurred twenty years earlier. This event still has Rose consumed with guilt. The grief over the recent loss of her husband, the pressure of helping her son cope with all the tragic changes occurring, and Detective Pearson’s on-going investigation, keeps her undone.

I enjoyed the quick, short chapters that make up this fast-paced thriller. It kept me engaged and wondering, and at times even shocked. I found the ending to be somewhat satisfying, but it did seemed a fitting end for this story.

This domestic thriller is a reminder that you can’t go back home again,

Rose’s husband dies suddenly under suspicious circumstances, so she moves back to her childhood home. She has buried secrets from the past that are trying to come crashing back.

I really wanted to love this book. The description had it right up my alley, but I couldn’t connect with Rose or her family and found the direction the story is heading very predictable. I would say this book falls more in the general fiction category than mystery and thriller. It is a family drama about secrets.

3.5 Stars

Rose Yates is a mystery author who moves back to her hometown and lives in her father's home with her young son after her husband's death that is thought to be an accidental overdose. She also writes thrillers and they seem to be hitting a little close to home. Detective Colin Pearson is suspicious of her because her husband's death is similar to the death in one of her books and a cold case her family was linked to as well. Will all the family secrets tear this family apart?

I enjoyed this book it was a quick read, but a little predictable, but it kept me engaged and I liked the different points of view. #dreamscape #NetGalley

Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.
Let me first start off by saying this was one of the best thrillers I have read this year. I had no idea where the story was taking me - so many crazy plot twists. I really enjoyed that I did not trust any of the main characters. I had a gut feeling about the Yates family members and I found the family murder mystery was thrilling. The detectives POV was very determined and ultimately heartbreaking. Rose Yates was great to listen to her POV - as a reader you really could feel exactly what Rose was going through and how it has changed her as a person. I sometimes find dual POV's are not my cup of tea - however, I was not bored with either and felt it was a nice mix. Ultimately - I was captivated by the Yates family secrets - loved the aspect of deadly secrets coming back to haunt them decades later.
In regards to this book as an audiobook - this narrator was great. Very easy to understand, had good rhythm and it was easy to follow along. I will be recommending this to friends and family. Amazing book. Thank you again.

New Hampshire, Wisconsin, family-dynamics, murder, multigenerational, dysfunctional-families, law-enforcement, psychological, thriller, writers, angst****

Told in alternating perspectives: New Hampshire with principal character and her son, and the Wisconsin' cop who feels that she fled after murdering her husband. Each is apparently attached to totally dysfunctional families. I really couldn't get into it for a variety of reasons. I finished it, but it became a chore for me. Guess I'm more inclined to procedurals.
Narrated by Erin DeWard with a decidedly melodramatic delivery.
I requested and received a temporary digital ARC of this book from Dreamscape Media and Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A fast-paced psychological thriller! I loved that this story felt new. Lots of thrillers follow the same general tropes but "The Dead Husband" is a story all unto itself. It will keep you turning the pages until then end... and then you'll still be left on the edge of your set. Wonderful storytelling and character building.

I couldn't listen to this because the narrators voice was grating on my nerves. I wish I could have.

Thank you to NetGalley and Carter Wilson for this Audio-ARC in exchange for my honest feedback and review.

Rose Yates suddenly loses her husband and moves her and her son back to New Hampshire. She comes back to face her family and her past. Her father and sister have held on to a long time secret that threatens to make Rose come apart. Rose is a crime writer and the secret may have spilled out into her newest book. As she comes to terms with the past and forces herself to face her family a detective from Wisconsin is convinced Rose knows about her husband's death.

There were many moments in this book I felt very frustrated by a character's decision or an obstacle in their way. The ending left something to be desired. It felt uncomplete to me. The book itself held my attention and I did finish it in just a couple of days. However I had to down my rating due to the fact that the twist wasn't really a twist, the ending uncomplete, and frustrations of the characters. I hope there is a second book coming because I would like to know what happens.

Erin DeWard did a great job narrating this book. The twists were predictable which I don't mind as much in this book because the author let everything unfold in a way that was still engaging. I really liked that we got chapters form the detectives POV on the case. This book was a quick read and the writing was good.

This was fast-paced and entertaining enough, but nothing special. Nothing surprising happened and the ending was anticlimactic.

The concept of this was interesting, and it started strong, but unfortunately it couldn’t maintain it. It wasn’t a bad read (or listen, in my case) but as someone who has read a lot of thrillers, this was more than predictable and dragged on in parts to the point that I was checking to see how much longer there was to go.
Rose Yates is a crime novelist who returns to her family home with her son after the death of her husband. As she tries to pick up the pieces after this loss, her sister and father are there and not exactly what you would call supportive.
Detective Colin Pearson is a fan of Rose’s books, but not in the way you would expect. He feels like there’s more to the story of her husband’s death and definitely more to Rose’s story than she is willing to let on. As he talks to Rose in both a personal and professional capacity he has to figure out exactly what Rose and her family are hiding.
The thing that saved this story for me was the audiobook narrator. She put lots of emotion into the different characters and really brought the story more life. I think had I been reading it, especially after the mid way point, I would have been tempted to DNF. Again, not that it’s a terrible story by any means, but it just needed some more pick up and thrills.
Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for this Arc in exchange for my review.

My thanks to Dreamscape and Net Galley for the opportunity to review this audiobook.

Rose Yates is a mystery author who moves back to her hometown and lives in her father's home with her young son after her husband completes suicide. Detective Colin Pearson is suspicious of her because her husband's death is similar to the death in one of her books and a cold case her family was linked to.

This book was interesting but it did not consistently keep my attention. I have a hard time listening to female characters written by a male author and this was no different. I did not connect to Rose at all and I felt like she could have used some significant character development.

The Dead Husband by Carter Wilson was a great book about how to family secrets can tear a family apart. I will be looking forward to the next book by Wilson.