A daddy-daughters camping weekend turns into a nightmare, as the girls are kidnapped. Though one is returned, the other is still missing and the parents are devastated as they try to help the police find her. Told from the perspectives of each parent in alternating chapters, we learn that the father has some secrets and the mother is taking medications for bipolar disorder. As the search continues, both become more desperate and begin to become unhinged. This story certainly kept my attention, but upon reflection, there seemed to be some things that were never explained. The narration was a tad exaggerated at times, particularly that of the father. Otherwise, it was an entertaining story.

The Secret Wife
by Emily Shiner
Narrated by Natalie Duke & Wayne Mitchell
Stars: 3.4/5

I had high hopes for The Secret Wife, though felt like I had heard the story before once I got into it. Ms. Duke was easy to listen to, but I found Mr. Mitchell to be a terrible fit. His enunciation was at (much of the) times over the top and I would prefer a different narrator for the male parts.

Cara and Michael both were just kind of out of control. Michael ends up being his own sort of special, but Cara makes the most ridiculous parenting choices as well. Overall, I finished the story and while it definitely was far from the worst that I've listened to or read, it wasn't my favorite.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to and review this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for access to the audiobook of The Secret Wife by Emily Shiner in exchange for an honest review.

When a camping trip with his two daughters goes awry, Michael and his wife Cara find themselves on a desperate search for a kidnapper. As Michael frantically tries to find his daughter while simultaneously covering up the secrets from his past, Cara is unearthing the alarming past.

Ugh. Yet another entitled male character ruining things for everyone. I could not stand Michael as a character. His inner narrative of desperation for a large family and his willingness to lie and entrap women to meet that end was absolutely disgusting and off putting from the very beginning. Though this was likely the author's intent, Michael's deception does not excuse the choices that Cara made at the end of this novel. She inexplicably and stubbornly refuses to involve the proper authorities when she uncovers the truth in this case, and all her poor decision making is blamed on the fact that she has a history of mental illness and is currently off her medication. Scapegoating of this kind contributes to the harmful narrative that people with mental illness are dangerous. Add to all this that the twists were very predictable, and this was a recipe for a very poorly executed book. Not a fan, do not recommend. If you're looking for a psychological thriller, there are tons of better ones out there.

I really enjoyed this book. In the begging the characters internal dialog was super relatable for Cara and Michael. The early chapters in this book were my favorite. Overall I feel like I expected a little more of a plot twist. The ending was a little underwhelming. However I didn’t want to turn the audio book off. I was super engaged and could not wait to hear what happened to Laura. I give this one a 3.5 *

Thank you NetGalley and dreamscape for the advanced audio recording.

The Secret Wife
Emily Shiner

So I received an audiobook I requested on Netgalley. So before I dive into the the book I want to focus on the narrator.

It was monotone. So monotone that even with a decrease or increase of speed it was as flat as a singular page from a book. I would not listen to the narrator narrate another book. All the voices, wife, husband and even the crying-sobbing child all the same voice. The audio was not enjoyable.

On to the novel, from the first page I felt I heard the story before, I knew the plot and it wasn’t until about a week later I was able to place it. It’s changed enough as in characters and series of events but the core dilemma had clearly came from a NCIS episode. I can’t recall the exact episode or season but I remember it. Or maybe it was Criminal Minds. Either way the plot was unoriginal, either by choice or pure coincidence.

The whole vibe of the book seemed off. It was as if everyone had a secret and really only one of those had been important. I didn’t understand some of the scenarios that took place, example telling my young children to stay in the tent while I go back to the car that’s at least a quarter mile away and no visibility or cell phone services. And there had been so many others just like that.

The parenting aspect of this book is highly questionable.

I found the characters very one note, which worked wonder when matched with the narration.

Would I recommend this book,

Book 54 of 2022
Rating: ⭐️

#thesecretwife #emilyshiner #netgalley

** spoiler alert ** This book was bananas and I loved it! That husband was SUCH a dick and I hated him, which was a result of the author's excellent writing! What I didn't see was the twist in the end with Cara kicking ass and taking names! I also love how much Cara loved her step-daughter - she truly loved her as her own, no differently than her bio-daughter.

Can't wait to read more books by this author! Definitely recommend.

#TheSecretWife
#NetGalley

The first half of The Secret Wife was very good. The story was suspenseful and the characters were engaging. However, the last half of the story was messy and farfetched. I did not care for the narrator of Michael's role. His imitation of his wife's voice was ridiculous and borderline creepy. This book missed the mark for me..

This thriller is told from the alternate perspectives of Michael and Cara, describing the events where a routine family camping trip results in the kidnapping of their daughter. Cara is the step mother of the child who was taken, and as the story unfolds, it is clear that Michael has a history that has not been shared with Cara.

This was a fast paced and gripping story, with lots of twists and turns that kept me guessing and an ending that I could not have predicted.

I had high hopes for this book, but it fell flat for me. It was ok. Just ok. There were no big surprises and the characters were undementional. The synopsis sounded so good, but, unfortunately, this one fell flat for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for allowing me an audio copy of this book for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book early! I really enjoyed it and was so curious what was going on the whole time. I didn't really see the ending coming and I really enjoyed the ride. This book is about a couple named Cara and Michael. They have 2 daughters named Laura and Olivia. Laura is Michael's daughter from this first marriage in which his wife died. Olivia is their daughter together. Michael takes the girls to camp for a weekend to give Cara some alone time. He realizes Laura left her beloved bear in the car, so he goes back to get it a few miles away. While he's gone he zips the girls in the tent and tells them to stay put. When he gets to the car he sees Cara bringing the bear because they actually left it at home. She was also freaked out because there was a man in her yard watching her. When they get back to the campsite, the girls are gone. They start a frantic search, the cops get involved, etc. I WISH this book was titled something different because I feel like its spoilery and kind of ruined some of the twists for me. When it all came out in the end it felt like it was just average. I also thought the mental health element of this book was underdeveloped and could've led to a bigger twist but instead felt unnecessary. Overall, a good book!

SPOILERS AHEAD:
Michael's ex wife wasn't dead. He was just looking for someone who would make more babies with him and so he took Laura and moved on to Cara, who he thought would give him a big family. He owed lots of money to someone so she helped his ex wife's dad kidnap the girls. Olivia came back pretty quick, but they were trying to steal Laura back. The ex wife did die because she killed herself from grief of losing her daughter. Michael's plan was to run away with both girls after the camping weekend to go on to the next woman to help him grow his family. It all blows up in his face. Cara and Michael run away and she completely calls the shots (which I LOVED) because she has all the dirt on the stolen money and things she can send to the cops if he doesn't behave. She wants to live in Europe with their girls and all his money so thats what they do.

Cara happily sent off her husband and two little girls to go camping. She plans to spend the weekend reading and relaxing. But, it turns into the worst weekend of her life. Both her girls are kidnapped. After one is returned, it is becomes apparent that this is not random. Cara begins to suspect something about Michael.

Cara is a hectic mom, as most moms are. But, when her kids are kidnapped, she turns into a bear and she is not going to leave a stone unturned. She slowly starts to unravel Michael’s past. She discovers Michael has never been who he says he is.

I enjoyed the intensity and the mystery surrounding Michael. I love how the author created such a wicked story. I liked Michael at first…but then…you will have to read this to find out!

I also enjoyed how the narrators, Natalie Duke and Wayne Mitchell tag teamed this story line. It made the story more real to my ears!

Need a good mystery, thriller which will give you all the emotions…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

3.5 stars
I love the cover of this book.
When a daughter goes missing during a camping trip a can of
worms is unleashed. I enjoyed this a lot and was wanting to
know what would happen next.
I really loved the ending
Thank you to NetGalley for this book in exchange for my
honest review!

Told in alternating chapters from Cara and Michael’s perspectives, you are privy to both parents keeping secrets which slowly unfold during the story. As I read the book, I’m not sure if I liked either Cara or Michael, but I was really driven forward wanting to know their secrets. Since I am a frequent reader of psychological thrillers, I don’t usually trust the narrators, so knowing I was leary of anything Michael and Cara said.

There are twists and turns along the way and while some are easily foreseen, you won’t see others coming. This book is definitely plot driven and was fast paced. I read it in about a day. If you like fast paced domestic thrillers, you should enjoy this one.

I enjoyed the narration of Natalie Duke & Wayne Mitchell. They brought the story to life.

A husband takes his daughters on a daddy daughter bonding trip, but then one daughter goes missing. Will he and is wife join together to find their daughter, or will the pressure make one of them break?
I enjoyed this audiobook! I thought the suspense and build up was well paced, and the ending kept you on the edge of your seat but wasn't too rushed. Just when you thought you were figuring things out, there was a new twist that kept you intrigued! I thought the narrators did a great job, and I enjoyed having both a male and female portray the different roles.
I would definitely recommend this book to my suspense loving friends.

I received an audio copy of this book via NetGalley. I read and reviewed this book voluntarily, and all opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

What was supposed to be a fun family camping trip, turned into the parents' worst nightmare when Cara and Michael's daughters go missing. Michael's thoroughly thought plan has been ruined. His past prevents him to tell the truth and open up to Cara, but Michael has underestimated his wife. And in this cunning game, the player gets played.

As a new mother, I was mortified by the kidnapping part of the story. Of the two main characters, Cara has shocked me the most. I did expect Michael to be a shady character from the very first pages, but Cara's sharp persona put this sneaky man into his place, and more importantly, gave him a justified punishment. I wanted to love the novel, but some parts of it seemed unrealistic and just didn't play well together.

Thank you, NetGalley for a free copy of the novel in the exchange for my honest review.

enjoyed the suspense and mystery of this book! I really didn’t see the ending coming at all, but loved it! The narrators did an excellent job building the tension.

I received an ARC from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Secret Wife was a thrilling ride. I finished in two days. I tried to guess the twists, which I did for one of them but not all of them! It was a great story to listen to. Great audiobook narrators in my opinion. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Cara has two little girls with her husband Michael. The older daughter Laura is from Michael's previous marriage who's mother passed away, and Olivia is Cara's biological daughter however, she's loves them both more than anything in the world. Michael has always wanted a big family and tries to press Cara to have more children even though she doesn't. To give her some time to think about it, he takes the two girls camping for the weekend. Things quickly goes south when the two girls go missing and a mysterious man continues to show up following Michael and Cara. Michael seems to have a dark past that he doesn't want Cara to find out about, but he can he keep it a secret while saving his daughters?

I gave this 2/5 stars because I felt like I was just constantly waiting to actually get into the story. It felt pretty bland to me and there wasn't really a chance to get the know the characters. There were a few twists in the end however I wasn't really shocked by any of it. The book also just kind of ended, not on a cliff hanger but I felt like there could have been more said.

Thank you to Netgalley and Inkubator Books for the ARC.

The story started off strong. Father daughter camping trip gone terrible wrong but soon became boring and amateurish. There wasn’t much to like about either lead character and as the story unfolds the driving force of the plot was rather silly. This guy goes from woman to woman in hope of finding the perfect incubator for his dreamed of large family.. the most off putting aspect of this audio version was the male narrator. In short, he was dreadful. His normal reading voice was okay but the minute he voiced other character is was shockingly bad.

I received an advanced copy of "The Secret Wife" via audiobook from NetGalley. I feel like I need to share a disclaimer saying that my view of the book my be skewed due to the fact that I found the male narrator for this book to be awful. Listening to him was almost painful. His narration was so bad that I almost stopped listening to the book a couple of chapters in. His voice was very game show host sounding and overly dramatic. The way he narrated Cara, the wife, and the two little girls sounded as if he was mocking them and their intelligence. The woman who narrated did a phenomenal job! It was largely overshadowed by how awful he was, though. The husband's character was already very shallow, whiney, manipulative, and controlling, but the narration didn't do him any favors.

As for the storyline of the book I thought that it was pretty interesting, overall, with some definite plot holes and ideas that didn't seem fully formed. The two main characters in the book, Michael and Cara, weren't incredibly likable. I didn't think there was enough character development that would cause a reader to form too much of an attachment to them to care what happened long term. Part of Cara's story involved her having a mental illness. Even the idea of the mental illness felt a little half baked. There were parts of the story that felt like the author was trying to make a point or drive something home, but it fell a little flat or the point was missed altogether.

There were a few plot twists thrown in that, I think, would be anticipated by most readers and didn't feel like a surprise. They, like most of the book, just felt like they were not fully formed ideas.

I would give this 3/5 stars. It wasn't the worst, but fell a little flat. I would highly recommend reading it over listening to it on audiobook!