Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I was on the edge of my seat throughout this entire book and listened to it in one day. The story was intriguing and compelling. I did not want to stop listening for anything. The book was twisted and left me guessing throughout. I would totally read more from this author.

A somewhat predictable mystery– see title– yet still fairly enjoyable. Plus, who doesn't enjoy vehemently hating a villain?

I actually really enjoyed this book. I struggled so hard with the male narrator though. I’ve listened to other books he’s done, and his character always sounds fine- but anytime he changes his inflection or tone for another character, I cringe. Worth it to get through the story, but tough.

This is a domestic thriller / psychological thriller.

Cara and Michael seem to have a happy little family. He goes to the office and she stays home and between them, they have two little girls. Michael takes the little girls camping so Cara can have some self-care time at home. They are barely gone when Cara spies a man in her yard and then finds Laura has left her teddy bear at home, so she gives up her plan for wine and cleaning the attic to drive out to the campsite to surprise the family with the bear.

This is where things go spectacularly wrong. Somehow Cara is able to navigate herself exactly to the off the grid path where Michael has set up their tent (like how…) and she runs into her husband as he is just then also looking for the bear (was this campground like 1 hour from their house?). They head back to the campsite and the girls are GONE.

Since this camping area has no cell service, Michael heads off to the camp office for assistance and Cara stays back, and is reunited with their younger daughter quite quickly while Michael’s older Laura stays missing.

What I liked - it was pretty suspenseful and I was caught up in the plot; Cara’s personality once she decided to give up her pills (she went from limp noodle to overcoming every fear there was); and the particular psychology / trauma response of Michael.

What did not work for me - I didn’t like the way Cara’s mental health was described and to give “a pill” that much power; both main characters were too stereotypical of their gender and generation and the narrators’ voices on the audiobooks when they did opposite gender voices or children’s voices,

All in all, this was a fast read and I would recommend that readers might want to check out the print / digital over the audiobook on this one as it was very difficult to listen to the two points of view giving voice to all the characters.

Warning though - If you suffer from depression or personality disorder, you may want to give this one a miss as it oversimplified and stereotyped mental health a bit too much.

The Secret Wife by Emily Shiner is about a father who takes his 2 little girls for a camping trip giving their mother Cara a relaxing weekend to herself. That is what Cara thought was the plan at least. What could possibly go wrong?
The girls get kidnapped and one is returned safely. I figured out who probably had something to do with taking the little girl early on. Glad I listened to the end to see how it played out. There were a few things I wouldn't have guessed.
This was a great thriller keeping me on the edge trying to find out how they get the girl back.

I am giving this book 4 stars because I was able to predict some of it.

Thank You Dreamscape Media for gifting the audiobook.

This book was published on 7/5/2022

Terrific book! I love it when there is more than one narrator. They both told the story in a way that kept you HOOKED!! Second wife, dead first wife, strange man away, camping trip. What can go wrong?? Pick this one up!!

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @authoremilyshiner for this audio ARC of The Secret Wife in exchange for an honest review!

This was an incredibly gripping read that had me on the edge of my seat until the very last sentence. The dual perspectives of Kara and Michael added an intriguing element to the "who-dun-it" style, and I loved that their distinct styles resonated throughout the unfolding of the story. The twists were believable, and I enjoyed the eyebrow-raising moments of surprise that came along with them. The narrators voices were pretty good, and I think that they added a lot to the character development (even though I felt like their "little kid voices" were sort of annoying).

My only criticism is that I didn't love the ending. I felt like while the author set it up to be really intense, the follow-through felt very abrupt. I wish we could have gotten a little epilogue of their life at the end. Kara got to have her diatribe and final conversation with Michael, but we didn't really see the result of how that conversation concluded. But overall it is one that I would recommend to fans of domestic thrillers!

This one is a tough one to review. I received this audiobook from NetGalley... The male narrator was a major struggle for me his voice caused me to constantly turn my phone down so I could barely hear him and his female voice made me cringe every time. The book... the beginning and even middle was pretty good and I had to finish listening just to see what was going to happen but the end went downhill fast imo. The ending was such a let down for the build up of the rest of the story. I'm a huge fan of Natalie Duke so for her narration and the build up of the beginning of the book this was a 3 star for me.

I really enjoyed the story even though I pretty much had it figured out the entire time. I thought it was written well and Olivia made it feel more real. I found the story to still be suspenseful while predictable. However, I hated the ending. No spoilers but it was extremely anticlimactic, foolish and way too abrupt. I’m a tad disappointed.

The Secret Wife was a fast paced domestic thriller that definitely keeps you on your toes. While I found some parts a little lacking and left me wanting more overall I really enjoyed the book.

Cara and Michael are the perfect couple with a perfect little blended family - two girls they love more than anything. Michael, the loving husband, has decided to take the two girls away on a camping trip to give Cara some time to herself to relax and rest. What is supposed to be a wonderful experience for all of them turns to a nightmare when their eldest daughter, Laura, goes missing.

First, I'll review the audiobook. Natalie Duke does a fine job narrating. Her voice was pleasant to listen to and she had the right inflection for the right mood. Wayne Mitchell's narration was a bit over-the-top for me. It seemed like he added too much inflection when he thought a situation was the slightest bit intense and sometimes not enough in actual intense situations.

For the first half of this book, I was riveted. I was on the edge of my seat, could not stop listening despite mediocre narration. It was a thrill ride. Where is Laura? Who took her? Why do both of these parents seem too perfect but at the same time so suspect?? It was wonderful.

After the first half, it all goes down. There are plot twists that are predictable. Plot twists that I never suspected, but seemed a little ridiculous. A good plot twist should be one that ties things together that you didn't know you missed. It shouldn't be a twist for the sake of a twist.

The ending was unsatisfying, leaving loose threads and just stepped completely outside the realm of reality. It does not seem likely in the slightest even when you add in the heavy-handed suggestion that the characters are not in their right minds.

I wanted to love this, but unfortunately it felt sloppy and none of it came together quite like it should. I would recommend so many other domestic thrillers before this one.

Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. I promised to give my honest opinion after receiving the audiobook from Netgalley. First off, I could hardly tolerate Michael's voice. It was like listening to nails scrapping down a chalkboard and made me dislike his character from the start and the children sounded possessed. Secondly, I found the story a bit too far fetched and very repetitive. Unrealistic situations and outcomes. Needless to say, I do not recommend this book.

Rating: 4.5

WOW! This one was really good. I listened to the audiobook in two days and wish I could have finished even faster! I finished the book then immediately said out loud ‘That was great’. Then I just sat there for a few minutes just thinking about the overall story.

This story wasn’t perfect, of course it had its issues. However, the issues in my opinion are so small and didn’t bother me or take away from my enjoyment. I saw several one stars due to how mental illness was handled. Personally, I think the author handled it well and I feel as though it fits with the thriller aspect. With that being said I always recommend readers check out the CWs.

This was such a quick read and I love that the pacing matched that of a thriller. It was really fast paced but even with the fast pacing the reader doesn’t miss out on any important details or setup. The writing was simple and easy to follow and I liked the length of the chapters. While I didn’t find the twists to be shocking or surprising and I did figure out what was happening early on it didn’t ruin the story. I still had fun coming up with other theories and listening to see how it would all come together. The narrators did such a fantastic job and made it feel like I was listening to a movie.

I would definitely recommend this one. It was a solid thriller that will keep you engaged until the very last page. I want to say more but due to spoilers I am limiting myself. Go into this one with as little knowledge as possible!

Thank you so much @dreamscapemedia for the gifted copy on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was my first book by this author! And it was a fast paced thriller! I finished it in a few day! I did the audiobook Version and the narrators did a great jobs! We have what we think is a sweet little family, Michael the father, Cara the mother and two little girls Laura and Olivia. Laura is from Michaels first marriage that he says the wife has died and Olivia is the baby from his marriage with Kara. But Kara has fallen in love with Laura and sees her as her own daughter.
Michael has a camping trip planned for him in the two girls why Cara has a weekend alone at home. But the camping trip doesn’t go as planned when Michael has to leave the girls to go back to the car and when he comes back they are gone than a few hours later Olivia shows back up but not Laura.
As this story goes on we learn some stuff about Michael and that he isn’t what Cara thought he was and he is hiding some stuff from her. Cara also had been taking some medications for mental health sense she was younger but when her daughter goes missing she stops taking them and realizes how much her senses have dulled why taking them and she finally sees what is going on in front of her and she makes a plan and will stop at nothing to get her daughter back.
This was full was twist and turns and kept me guessing through out the whole book and I really enjoyed it! And that ending! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook for review!

I can't lie this book gives Life Time Movie Network Domestic Thriller. Weather you like that or not is really a personal choice.

This book was fairly predictable. Guy goes camping with daughters, one daughter goes missing, he has secret past that he doesn't want to face, blah blah blah. So even though this book was nothing special it was still mysterious enough to keep me engaged. There were a couple twist that I wasn't sure of, so I wanted to find out if I was right (I was).

I listened to this book as an audiobook, and really enjoyed the female narrator, then male on the other hand was not my favorite. His character was good, but all the other characters that he tried to voice were just so bad. Because of this I do think it would be better if I had physically read it.

One major issue I did have was the description of the female main characters Bipolar disorder. I think the author was trying not to be offensive but I do think that some people could still take it that way. It becomes a rather important character trait for her, and really steers the book. While I don't personally mind to much I do think this could make this book less then enjoyable to some readers.

This book is perfect for someone that wants an easy to read domestic thriller with some interesting plot twist. At the end of the day it was a quick read, and what I would call a good palate cleanser. I am reading for something more twisty and turning

What a story! This is the first book I read from Emily Shiner, and it was awesome! Well-written, and I was not expecting the ending. I can't wait to read other books from this author.

The narration was excellent. Highly recommend this book!

So many thanks to Dreamscape Media for the ARC of this book!

When Cara's daughters go missing and only one comes back, Cara quickly learns that her husband is not who she thought he was, and her life becomes much more complicated. As she and Michael search for their other daughter, it becomes evident that there is a lot she doesn't know.

This book is a quick read with a good narrator and a good story line. There are good characters and good twists and enough unique plot points to make it stand out from the countless other books with similar titles. It is definitely on the far-fetched side, but not so much that it's distracting. The thing I didn't like was the way it portrays women as being so comfortable and willing staying with a man they know is a complete jerk,-- even if there's something in it for the woman, I like to think women can be strong and do better. I just find it a little silly when female characters seem defaulted into staying, almost not even occurring to them to leave. I strongly prefer heroines who are confident and can stand on their own two feet.

So, this one had so much promise. Michael is giving his wife a free weekend, without the girls. When they married, Michael had a daughter, Laura, from a previous marriage, and Olivia was born a few years later. The girls, now around 7 and 4, go camping with dad so perfect mom, Cara, can relax. But, things don't work out so well when one of the girls forgets the stuffy she sleeps with and Cara decides to bring it to her but the girls aren't in the tent? Michael left them alone? So, great premise but, when the story ended, I felt like I missed the last few chapters and had to replay the last chapter of the audio. That was indeed the end, quite abrupt and without a lot of questions answered. It just fell kind of flat for me, and the lispy audio voice for the youngest girl was awful, especially since it was the adult narrator talking. I also think the title doesn't really match the book because the secret wife was not a major factor in the story..

This book started off so strong! So much potential!

Dad takes his two little girls camping in the woods and the little girls goes missing? Addicted right from the beginning.

This is a story where obviously the finger gets pointed at both the parents and so they work so hard to figure out who took their babies.

The ending fell flat though. The reasoning for who and why the person took the girls wasn’t as climactic as I was hoping. The rest of the story kept me hooked though! I would recommend for any thriller fan though.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the ARC copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start by saying that I really enjoyed both the male and female narrators. They were spot on with their reactions and really helped me become immersed in the book. As far as the story goes, I’ve always liked an unreliable narrator but this story had many and I couldn’t tell who to believe for a while because they all seemed shady! I was hoping it was headed in a different, less predictable direction but I was sad that I saw it coming. It was still a decent story and well written.