4.25/5

Two Dead Wives by Adele Parks is the follow-up to her previous novel Woman Last Seen, and believe me when I say, you will enjoy this book a heck of a lot more if you read that one first. It is an immediate continuation from where the first novel ends, and it is full of spoilers that might not make you want to go back and read the first one if you start with this. I also would have been pretty confused had I not read them in order, so you have been warned. I loved that we had mostly the same characters again and that includes my beloved DCI Clements. I think I knew pretty early on what was going on here, but somehow Parks still managed to throw twists at me that I didn't see coming.

This book also introduced a new narrator for the audio which I was a little surprised by, but I loved Kristin Atherton and was very happy with her narration for Two Dead Wives. As with the previous novel, there are still multiple viewpoints, but the storyline is really easy to follow along with and I had no issues keeping up with them or knowing who was who. It also provided some much-needed closure, and I enjoyed the way everything was tied up at the end. While I wouldn't say I loved all of the main characters (not by a long shot), a couple of them grew on me and I ended up not hating them completely in the end. High praise I know 😂 If you are a fan of this author, I would definitely recommend checking out both DCI Clements novels and skipping over the synopses!

I knew going in that this book was the second to feature DCI Clements, but I had no idea from the synopsis that it was a sequel to Woman Last Seen which is on my TBR list, but now I don't know if there is a point to reading it. I do think in hindsight that it would have been really beneficial to have read Woman Last Seen first, as it would have probably changed my thinking on this book.

I did enjoy the twist on the theory that the husband is always the suspect, but what happens when there are two husbands? I also thought that the isolation of the pandemic did play into the effectiveness of the Stacie plot line and that the author captured just how happy people were to return to pre-pandemic socializing.

Edit: In reading other reviews, a lot of readers found themselves in the same position as me with not knowing about Woman Last Seen, so maybe this wasn't such a me thing and more of a marketing thing.

When I read this book, I didnt realize it was book two in a series. It worked well as a standalone. After reading some of the comments though, I can't not read the first book. I definitely thought this book was unique. I don't recall coming across a similar concept. The beginning sucked me in. Is Kylie dead? Is she alive? Why does the story switch to another storyline and what's the connection? It all came together in the end. I'd say parts of the book were more fast paced than others. Overall it kept my attention. I guess the minus one star would have to do with the far fetched elements that coincidentally happened. Maybe I need to suspend my imagination more. Time to go find the first book now.

Thank you Netgalley and Adele Parks!

This was a slow burn thriller and I figured out the twist early on. However, there were many loose ends I wanted to see hopefully tied up, so that kept my interest throughout.

The plot involves a bigamist woman who goes missing and is presumed dead. I liked it because it's not a topic I see too often and it kept things interesting.

Two Dead Wives
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Author: Adele Parks

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Harlequin and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Lost. Missing. Murdered? How do you find a woman who didn’t exist?

It's a case that has gripped a nation: A woman with a shocking secret is missing, presumed dead. And her two husbands are suspects in her murder.

DCI Clements knows the dark side of human nature and that love can make people do treacherous things. You can’t presume anything when it comes to crimes of the heart. Until a body is found, this scandalous and sad case remains wide open.

Stacie Jones lives a quiet life in a small village, nursed by her father as she recovers from illness, and shielded from any news of the outside world. But their reclusive life is about to be shattered.

How are these families linked, and can any of them ever rebuild their lives in the wake of tragedy?

My Thoughts: This was the second book in the DC Clements series. I have the first one on my TBR but did not read it and had no issues following along, so this can absolutely be read as a standalone. This psychological thriller was tense, captivating and explosive. It starts a bit confusing but as it goes along, you completely understand what is happening. It makes national news on a women’s disappearance with both husbands suspected of foul play. Then jump over to Stacie Jones who lives a quiet life with her father as she recovers from a serious illness. As their lives intersect, are they connected? Will they be able to rebuild a happy life with so much tragedy?

The story has multiple narrators. This plot line was very attention grabbing, “a bigamist woman is missing,” and kept my interest peaked. Kylie had created two very separate and different lives, one with Daan, living a very high lifestyle with the wealthy, socializing with high powered VIPs and A-List celebrities. Then she has a life with Mark, more of the family life with two stepsons that she really adores. Neither husband was none the wiser until she went missing, then the dam broke. Kylie definitely made mistakes but the husbands were not necessarily the victim in this scenario, Daan was a cheater, never a one-woman man, while Mark essentially dumped the responsibility of the kids, who are not biologically hers, on her shoulders. The characters were well fleshed out, especially if you read the first book, they were mysterious, intriguing, and creatively. The author’s writing style was complex, suspenseful, twisty, and captivating.

This checks all of the boxes for a psychological thriller, it is twisty, devious, creepy, dark, and captivating. I would highly recommend picking up the book or audiobook.

I will start by saying I loved the character development and how everyone was connected in some way. I found myself frustrated with COVID being a thing in the book as I usually like to escape from reality in a book. I was waiting for a connection between the 2 dead wives since that is the title. The ending was exciting and found the book to pick up midway through. It was an overall fun read and gets 3 stars in my book!

I really enjoyed this sequel in Adele Parks’ DCI Clements series. I was interested from the start to the finish and had to keep reading.

A missing woman is presumed dead, killed by one of her two husbands. Or was it someone else? And where is the body? The lack of a body has the cops a bit miffed and looking for answers in this followup psychological thriller from Adele Parks. This works well as a standalone, so if you haven't read the first DCI Clements book, it's all good.

The story does start out a bit on the slow side and it took me a bit to follow the head hopping multiple points of view and the strange present tense voice of the narrator, but somewhere in there I became hooked on figuring out what was going on here.

The characters are what I liked most about this story. And I mean that I found them interesting, frustrating and at time downright scary. I loved how things get wrapped up with the husbands as well and I found the ending very satisfying.

Overall, in spite of a slow start, I found this story to be creative and it held my attention to the end which really was terrific. Most of the action happens in the last third of the book and it's all worth it! A nicely crafted psychological mystery-thriller.

Two Dead Wives is (spoiler alert) a sequel to Parks’ Woman Last Seen, but don’t let that stop you from reading this incredibly exciting thriller which goes above and beyond the usual twists and turns and will continuously shock the reader with its imaginative plot.

DCI Clements is coming off of the toughest case of her life. A woman who was kidnapped is believed to be dead. Although the woman had an incredibly complicated past, she leaves a husband and two stepsons, another husband and her grieving best friend. Now, one of the husbands is being charged with the murder.

Stacie Jones lives in a small village and is recovering from cancer. Having moved away years ago to live in Paris, she is now home with her father recuperating from her brain surgery. She can’t remember her past but is grateful her father who is a retired doctor is here to help her try and put the pieces back together. For her own safety, she stays close to home as she is still not sure of the area she lives. Although secluded, she remembers her past by her father telling her stories of her life and she is pretty content and appreciative for all he has been doing.

Back to DCI Clements. She can’t seem to let this case go. She feels as if she is missing something. No, there has been no new evidence, but when Fiona, the best friend moves into the husband with the sons’ house, well she gets a bad feeling. Who would do that? Shouldn’t she still be in mourning?

So, she decides to go to the last place the missing woman was ever seen. To see if there is any evidence that was overlooked. Something sparks her interest and the wheels in her brain begin to turn. But without any other evidence, it’s seeming dead on arrival.

And with these the only clues I choose to give you, a cat and mouse game begins which will include lies, crazy and perhaps hope. You see, one of the stepsons believes his stepmother is alive. He is determined to make everyone believe what he believes. 

And what does Stacie Jones have to do with this? With no memory of anything? Could she have seen something? What ties her to this mystery?

But beware. There is one person who wants this whole investigation to be shut down. That is the actual killer. Because you see, they don’t want to have to kill again, unless they really have to.

Two Dead Wives is a gripping tale of deceit, lies and spine-chilling suspense. If you have not read Woman Last Seen, read it because it is just a good as the second. Both are quite the killer stories!

Thank you #NetGalley #Mira #AdeleParks #TwoDeadWives for the advanced copy.

I enjoyed the author’s previous thriller, Woman Last Seen, and I was excited that this was a follow up to that one. The characters are intriguing and complex and the plot has many layers. I was interested to see how everything unfolded and to get a definitive resolution as to what really happened. You can read this as a standalone but I recommend you read the other book first to get more of a character background and to understand how we have arrived at this part of the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this one!!

Thank you Netgalley. While I enjoyed the book I felt a bit unmoored at times. I wasn't aware this was a prequel!! I think I would have loved it more had I known and read the other book. It was still a good read, suspenseful and I loved the different POVs in the storyline.

There was a lot going on in this book. Many times I felt the author shared things earlier than they should. Other times I felt there was just to much going on. I felt like the author was trying to throw everything in this book. I will say I didn’t really was a sequel until the explanation at the end. Maybe that would have made a difference.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC. Thrillers centred around bigamy are rare so I was excited to see she was coming out with another book. I recommend reading books 1 & 2 closely together. Too much time had passed for me and I was very confused at first.

I LOVED Woman Last Seen, so when I saw there was a sequel, I literally couldn't request it fast enough. I was not disappointed! Two Dead Wives takes place just a few weeks later, with Dan being arrested for Ky's murder. Then there is also Stacey Jones, who is being cared for by her Dad after treatment for brain cancer. What I really liked is you get to know the characters well, along with what makes them tick. Lots of jaw dropping twists and turns and a very interesting ending!

This is book two in a series. I felt like I was missing information from not reading book number 1. Usually, I can make it work but this one I wish I would have read book 1 first.
For me, it was confusing at times and later on in the book I learned a little more but like I said, I was still missing some information that might have helped me understand this story better.
2.5

So I didnt realize that this was a prequel book. I didnt read the first book but felt that it seemed to work ok without having read the original. I enjoyed this book and the multiple narrations and the structure of the mystery that unfolded.DCI Clemns and his partner who is focused on putting the blame on DAAn the husband who lived in the same apartment where his wife was taken and chained to a radiator. Clemens understands Kylie who lived a double life but is committed to finding her alive. We also learn more about Stacie Jones who lives with her father and who left Paris due to health reasons. How is everyone connected? And what happened to Kylie. The juicy answers come one by one and I really enjoyed the slow burn.

This book will keep you intrigued from start to finish. Good read!

I want to thank Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for giving me a chance to read this book

Unfortunately, I did not realize it was Book #2 when I requested this book. Nothing on the cover indicates it as such, either. I tend to blindly go into books without reading reviews, and it came back to bite me with this one. Enough is set up in the beginning of the book that it is not clearly a continuation. I felt like everything was just spilled out in blah-blah-blah fashion. When I got to the end and realized it was book #2, it made a little more sense that the story seemed to come out of nowhere. Still, I found it to be boring and extremely ridiculous. I can generally bypass my disbelief but this one had me rolling my eyes so much they were tickling my gray hairs. Thankfully it was very easy to skim.

I could not get into this to save my life or my sanity - it just wasn't working. I think I ended Woman Last Seen just not needing a follow up, and so nothing about this grabbed my attention. Plus, honestly, I didn't remember the ending of Woman Last Seen well enough to even pick up where we left off. This one isn't for me!

Adele Parks' "Two Dead Wives" unfolds a gripping tale of suspense as a woman with a shocking secret goes missing, leaving two husbands as suspects in her presumed murder. The narrative, however, feels like two distinct storylines converging, with an early major reveal adding an intriguing layer to the unfolding mystery. While the plot is interesting, at times, the dual perspectives may create a sense of disjointedness. Parks skillfully examines the complexities of family bonds and the lengths people go to for love in this explosive psychological thriller.