A good read, gripping and full of tension. Enjoyed the twists towards the end. It's quite fast paced with relatively short chapters, which moves it along nicely too.

Just months after getting married to Sam, Lauren is found in their new home dead at the bottom of the stairs. The book follows Georgie, Sam’s mother, and her perspective on the incident. Georgie soon learns that you can’t always take things at face value and you can’t always trust those you are closest too.
A quick read that keeps you guessing. Well written characters and a great story line.

Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of The New Wife by Sue Watson.

I was gripped by the story line from the beginning. It was an easy read but still very entertaining with a few twists in the story.

Sam and Lauren met as children and were childhood sweethearts. They marry and a few weeks later Lauren is found dead. Suspicion falls on Sam (it's always the husband, isn't it?). As the story unravels, friendships and relationships are tested. I won't give too much away, but if you enjoy reading psychological thrillers, this is a comfortable read, which I finished in an afternoon.

Georgia’s son, Sam, is marrying Laura, his childhood sweetheart. A few weeks after the wedding, Laura is killed. Sam is the prime suspect and has been acting weird since the murder. Sam leaves a soon as the police leave. Suspicious. How much is any mother willing to cover up for their child??

Love me a slow burn that keeps me on the edge of my seat until the very last page.

I'm looking for more by this author!

The author handled this unique perspective from Georgie's POV well. The isolated cottage in the desolate moorlands of Devon creates a sense of being trapped and an atmosphere of suspense and intrigue.The exploration of the family dynamics between the two families by Watson was something I really enjoyed. As the author recounts the characters’ experiences together, she gives the plot depth by telling the story of how their friendship gradually grew stronger over the years.Georgie's relentless pursuit of the truth leads her to uncover a tangled web of secrets and lies with the people she had once thought she knew intimately. As the plot progressing, she realises her own naivety at having believed everything she had been told without question. The suspense increased at the end of each chapter. Although there were a few aspects of the storyline and the setting that were questionable, this book was still absolutely captivating, and the narrative moved at an incredibly fast pace. The conclusion was too predictable for my preferences, however, this did not stop me enjoying this read. Recommended reading!

What an exciting book to get my teeth into. It was fantastic right from the beginning. You know there’s more to this story right from the off. It was very well written

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for approving me for this book.

I felt the writing was done well in this book but there was just something missing for me and I couldn't get into it and enjoy it as much as I hoped I would.

This was an amazing read! Right from the start it was interesting and it was so difficult to predict the killer. There were lots of twists throughout which will keep you gripped.

And there is an unexpected final twist right at the end which lifts this plot to another level.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!!

Great read! A thriller that was full of suspense. A loving mother, her son and the new daughter in law become embroiled in a difficult relationship, leading to unexpected and extremly bad results. Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the advance ecopy.

I enjoyed this book but I didn’t love it. I felt like Georgie, the voice of the story, though only in her 40s, seemed much older. I also found her quite unlikeable. I’m not sure what it was specifically though. But I did like the actual story & I kept changing my mind about who I thought had done it, so it definitely kept me in suspense. Definitely worth a read.

How well do we really know the closest people to us? Do we know them at all? This was a fast paced, twisty read! Childhood sweethearts marry and three months later the bride is dead. Who killed her? I guarantee you will be surprised by the truth! Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. Available now!

Struggled to get into the book.. Had a hard time with the main character's POV.. Unfortunately, was not able to finish at this time.

Sam Moore and Lauren Jackson are a newly married couple. The two of them met at school and have been joined at the hip since. Sam's Mum Georgie feels like part of the family too as Lauren's mum and Dad Helen and Tim treat her like family. You get a feel for how close and involved all the characters are very early on in the book. When Sam and Lauren buy a house in the remote moors of Dartmouth both Georgie and Helen start to wonder if everything is as rosy as it seems. In a matter of weeks following the wedding Georgie receives the phone call that changes everything. Lauren is dead in what looks like an accident.


This started slowly but built on the tension and drama as events unfold following the death of Lauren. Of course like most would expect Sam is the number one suspect. The reader gets to see the whole family fall apart from start to finish. This was definitely a gripping read and I thoroughly enjoyed it although for some reason I once again didn't like the main character Georgie. I don't know what it is but for some reason the characters that Sue creates in this genre I struggle to like? Thankfully that has no impact on the book and I was kept guessing right until the end

Story of the book-

Sam Moore had no clue that Lauren Jackson, his childhood lover, would be away in three months and that he would be wanted for her murder when they wed in a lovely ceremony on a gorgeous day in May.

Sam and Lauren first came into contact when Sam took the hand of a young girl who was clinging to her mother and led her off to play on the first day of the nursery. Since then, they have been best friends through high school and college, and their respective families are overjoyed that they are getting married and looking forward to spending the rest of their lives together. Even though Sam’s sole family member was his single mother Georgie, who separated from her violent husband when Sam was a little child, they had both been adopted into Lauren’s larger family for a very long time. Lauren, her sister Kate, and frequently her closest friend Sadie would gather to celebrate family occasions and even travel on vacations with Lauren’s parents, Tim and Helen, who were hospitable and inviting.

Sam discovered his ideal work as an environmental officer for Dartmoor National Park after studying environmental science at university, while Lauren is a junior doctor who has never lost her love of socializing and going out. Sam lives a calmer, less social life and saves his money to pay the mortgage on a home on the outskirts of Dartmoor. Sam had always wanted to live close to the moor so he could be surrounded by nature, but Georgie was worried Lauren would find the solitude and quiet of the cottage too lonely and grow weary of the 45-minute commute to work. After Lauren’s death a few months after the wedding, Georgie begins to doubt how well she understands the people who are closest to her.

My review-

I adored Sue Watson’s The New Wife, a thrilling, spicy domestic thriller with an intriguing plot. It was a truly compelling and addictive narrative with a solid premise, strong pacing, and a writing style that I like. I liked how Sue Watson subtly built up the tension until ultimately everything broke, creating a sense of tyranny without overtly doing it. The characters were exceptionally well-drawn and depicted with an intriguing, genuine cluster of layers, and relationship dynamics and ties were skillfully explained.

As a psychological thriller, the novel does a good job of keeping you on the edge of your seat by adjusting your level of suspicion, as seen through Georgie’s eyes. The tale is sluggish for a large portion of the novel, but this was necessary to maintain the tension because there aren’t many characters or significant events. This tale illustrates the peril of concluding too quickly by using twists and red herrings. In this character-driven narrative, the action moves slowly. With each new page, the suspense grows more intense after Lauren’s death. The bereaved parents on both sides are full of suspicions. Character development makes all parties involved appear credible and sympathetic. It was difficult to put this one down for any amount of time. Twists are continually heading in unexpected directions, first this way and then the other.

The plot has a few extremely skillfully used red herrings. I was convinced I knew who was responsible for Lauren’s killing and was continually glancing around suspiciously, but I was utterly mistaken. Sue writes in a beautiful way that rapidly captivates the reader and keeps them turning pages. When I pick up one of her novels, I never want to put it down until I’ve read the final page, so I always have to set out an afternoon or evening so I can appreciate it. A gripping page-turner with an unexpected twist!

Sue Watson smashes it out of the park again!

I love all of her books and if you liked this one, her extensive back catalogue will not disappoint.

Great read.

I had to write and rewrite my review over and over again. I totally misjudged where this book was going. There were plenty of clichés  that I was like, "really?", but they only served as a purpose to the plot twists that were to come. As amazing as they were, I figured some of them out. And no, that didn't take from the fun of listening to the book.

Another thing I liked was the narrator, she was so good, coupled with how gripping the book was, I finished the audiobook in two days, which is record time for me, considering I can't concentrate long enough on audiobooks.

One thing I disliked though, was the actions taking place in a deserted cottage in the moors.

Fun fact, I had the E-arc requested as well, which I may have done by accident while waiting for the audiobook's approval, so that helped to keep reading the book when I couldn't listen to the audiobook.

Thank you @netgalley & @bookouture for this Audio ARC in exchange for an honest review💕

I loved the premise of this, I love Sue Watson as an author anyway, so was really looking forward to getting stuck in. Thankfully I wasnt disappointed.
Lauren and Sam are getting married and proud mum Georgie couldnt be prouder, until Lauren is found dead just a few days later and she begins to wonder if her son is hiding something. When she goes into their bedroom, what she discovers shocks her.
This is a whodunnit, and I didnt guess. There are a lot of twists and turns. I felt Georgie was maybe a little too blinkered and overprotective as a mother, but it was a wonderful read, and that characters really came alive.
The setting, and the descriptive writing for it, oh my, it felt like I was there.

The New Wife is told from Georgie, the Mothher/Mother in law of childhood sweethearts Sam and Lauren and the sorty unfolds with their marriage and Laurens subsequent death only three months later. as is typical with this genre everyone has secrets and its not as straight forward as "the husband did it".

A classic - how well do you really know someone cat and mouse tale filled with exciting plot twists and drama by the bucket load. Fans of Watsons The Sister in Law will not be disappointed with this one, it is an easy read, fast paced psychological thriller and I highly reccommend it.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Really good characters, very believable. Had me gripped the whole way through. I'm usually good at working out who done it, but this time I had everyone guilty in turn.

This was super fast paced and well written. I did feel like some of it was super melodramatic and unnecessary. But overall, it was a pretty good thriller and a quick read.