3.5 stars

How fun!! A twisty jaw-dropping type of read that was full of surprises. Tension and suspense oozed from the pages, although I actually listened to the audio.

Emma and Sam meet at a bereavement group and hit it off. Despite Emma recently losing her husband and Sam, his wife, they begin dating, and Emma soon finds herself pregnant. She is thrilled, which leads her further into Sam's arms and marriage. However, Emma then starts noticing things like her pictures being sold by Sam, money from her account missing, Sam's frequent work trips, and white lies. Then, one day, she calls Sam and a woman answers, claiming to be his wife. Wtf? Is Sam conning her? Is he a bigamist?

The plot had many sharp curves as it went along. Just as I thought I knew where it was going, then BAM it switched directions. I will admit that none of the characters were likable, but they all had secrets, which was what made it fun.

Thank you Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for an audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I had already read the book when I requested the audiobook. The book was unputdownable, and the audiobook kept me walking for hours!
The narrator is very good, but I think that, in this case, I actually preferred the book.
Thanks to the author, Rona Halsall, and Bookouture Audio for the advanced audiobook.

Emma goes to her local bereavement counselling session where she meets Faith, the counsellor and her brother, Sam.

Fast forward, Emma and Sam gets married and they're expecting a baby.

Then this happens...

.... ‘I’m sorry, Sam’s not available,’ says the woman who answers my husband’s phone. I can’t place her voice, so I politely ask who she is. Her answer sends my world spinning out of control: ‘I’m his wife.’

No it can't be, because Sam was married to her. (Emma)

Emma discovers Sam’s got more to hide than she has imagined was possible.
Sam is leading a double life. He’s already married to someone else.

But Sam isn't the only person keeping secrets, Emma is too, and he has no idea how far she'll go to protect herself.

But who is keeping the bigger secret?

....
This is indeed an addictive and gripping psychological thriller with so many twists you wouldn't see coming.

The story sucked me in barely an hour after i pressed play ▶️. The twists changed the trajectory of the book. I was blown away and I wanted more.
I loved the changes each character went through.

It would have been great to hear Sam's Pov and though the ending was ok, I felt there was something missing or maybe not 😅.

Thank you NetGalley, Rona Halsall and Dreamscape Media, Hachette UK - Bookouture for this audiobook.

Wow! Saying this thriller is twisty is an understatement. There were so many mind-blowing twists that were constant starting in the middle until the shocking conclusion. Initially, I thought I knew where the plot was going, but I had no idea and was surprised after each of the many jaw-dropping turns. The narration expertly brought the characters to life while adding a layer of intrigue and suspense. This was definitely a fast-paced thrill ride! Thank you, NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for my audiobook.

WOW - now THIS was a wild ride. My mind was spinning the entire way through with all of the lies and how complicated these people made their lives. I really couldn't grasp how two people could be living such double lives but it was so entertaining to watch. These are my favorite types of thrillers - full of webs of deceit from people who think they are acting for the good of everyone but are really just acting on their own selfish needs. Just when you think you know who is good and moral, this is flipped upside down and you realize only a few people are actually acting with their hearts and being authentic. I thought this was really well paced and it captured my attention the whole way through. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was not what I expected at all! Plot twist after plot twist had me constantly wanting to read one more chapter. I love books like this one where I don’t see the ending coming, so this was a fun read. I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media, Hachette UK - Bookouture for an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

A very pregnant Emma calls her husbands phone but when a woman answers and says she's his husband Emma's world is rocked.

While reeling from her most recent tragedy Emma befriends a grief counselor, Faith, and her architect brother, Sam, who she instantly taken with. After a whirlwind romance she is pregnant, married to Sam and making plans to build their dream home. As her due date approaches but the house is not finished she becomes more suspicious of Sam's behaviors and ultimately his past when questions of his wife's death arise. Emma knows that he is keeping secrets from her, specifically another wife, but is he also dangerous or even a murderer?

With a wink and an "I gottcha" Rona Halsall sends this ho-hum storyline spinning off in a new direction. I admit that I love a good twist that I don't see coming and the first twist of this book did just that... but there are many more to come. Others not as good. While I loved that everyone is keeping a secret for the mystery it did make me suspicious of the characters so they became less likeable. The story is still intriguing enough to try and figure out how the story ends... or does it. Some of the subplots and "twists" are slow burns which really slow down the story's pace. There are a couple that felt unnecessary (i.e. Faith/Sam revelation). Overall this was an enjoyable mystery and I would be interested in reading more of Halsall's works.

I had the audio version read by Sarah Durham who I enjoyed listening to and kept a good pace.

I could not get into this. The characters did not interest me. The story line seemed interesting from the description, but the story was too slow to start. I gave up at 15%.

The Bigamist
by Rona Halsall
Narrated by Sarah Durham


Well dang! There were twists galore in this book! The Bigamist by Rona Halsall was a fast-paced psychological thriller that kept me trying to figure it out until the end. With well-developed characters and a plot that will keep you listening, Emma is the star of this story. Emma loves Sam. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is as it seems. There are so many twists and turns that I don't want to go into it more for fear of spoiling the surprises.

Additionally, Ms. Durham was terrific as a narrator. Her performance brought Emma and the others to life and made it a pleasant listening experience.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media and Ms. Halsall for the chance to listen to and review this!

This just wasn’t for me. When it came down to it, while in theory this book is right up my alley, the execution of the story just wasn’t for me.

Now I get how people would enjoy it. It’s an interesting story covering a man living a double life and his wife catches him. She’s got her own secrets so it’s a twisty wild ride to the end. There’s just something about the execution that just didn’t do it for me. It’s not bad, but it’s not for me.

It is a rarity for me to find an absolute gem of a thriller. This was it! Each chapter ending on a cliff hanger!
I was lucky enough to have this on audio and when you get a thriller like this and you listen to it at bedtime it's lethal!, Just another 30 minutes.....50% later I had to wait until I awoke the next day!
This book had so many twists and turns. Was Emma delusional, was Sam married to her and someone else? Could Emma trust Faith, Sam's sister? Not everything is as it seems. After all Sam had met Emma at a bereavement group, he had lost his wife and Emma had also suffered a loss too but had her savings made her more attractive too him? He wasn't the only one with secrets, she too had one of her own. This book will have you guessing from the start trying to assign the title to a character. You will be wrong and you will be very surprised as there are so many twists and turns in this book you are kept guessing right until the last few pages!
The narration by Sarah Durham was perfect. The story and narration marry perfectly. The accents are great and how she 'feels' with each character too makes this audio fantastic!
Grab a copy or an audio version absolutely brilliant, you won't be disappointed!
This is my first book of Rona Halsalls's but definitely not the last!
Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for this opportunity to give an honest review..

3.5⭐️
I listened to this and loved the narrator. I suggest listening to this to get the full effect. The book is crazy and really got me going. It picks up fast I really liked that. I was spinning from a the twits and turns. And I felt sorry for all of them until I didn’t. Cheating and betrayal make me crazy nervous and the author did a great job making me hold my breath. And then, what the heck? No spoiler here….
It’s dangerous, mysterious, crazy and shocking all at the same time.
If you like suspenseful thrillers then you’ll like this one it was crazy!
Thanks Dreamscape Media via Netgalley.

You know what you sign up for when starting a story by Rona Halsall: never ending twists and turns and keeping yourself asking what the .... is really going on!
Enjoy and have fun like I always do with a book by this author!
Sarah Durham does a great job narrating this book!
Thank you #Netgalley #Dreamscape Media, Hachette UK - Bookouture for an advanced audio version

I found this book difficult to put down. Every time I thought the story would take a somewhat predictable turn, I was pleasantly surprised to have it go down a completely unexpected path. Ms. Halsail also did a great job with pacing, and she delivered a dynamic story.. In this respect, I thought it was very well written. However, too much of a good thing is, still, too much. There were, especially toward the end, so many ridiculous contrivances and plot devices utilized by the author to keep the story moving forward that I found myself rolling my eyes. Sometimes, less really is more. A less contrived and unnecessarily complicated plot, and a greater focus on the characters’ personal motivations and relationships, would have transformed this from an entertaining if somewhat superficial beach read to a story of greater substance and depth and, in that respect, a more compelling book. As an aside, I thought that the narration by Sarah Durham was excellent — she is a very talented narrator. My sincere thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange fora honest review.

The ending fell flat for me

Emma is married to Sam. They have a baby on the way. Sam is an con artist. Emma doesn't realize that until it's too late. By then Sam has already helped himself to lots of her money
Emma is married to Zach. Zach had an accident
Who is conning who?

This was a wild ride and I def did not see that last twist coming! Which is my fave in a book, when I don't see the twist coming! This was my 1st book by Rona Halsall but will definitely be my last! I am off to add her backlog of books to my TBR.

#TheBigamist
#NetGalley

Oooooh boy was that plot twisty. I loved all the twist in this book! Very very great story line that kept me on my toes. I was REALLY hoping there was an epilouge haha
Very detailed creative story line that definitely kept me guessing! I loved the narrator. 5 star book. Definitely will be looking forward to more books from this author

Even the plot twist had plot twists! At one point I thought, how is there still half a book left - I already figured it out. Then the joke was on me for the second half of the book. A wee bit of a slow build for me but it was fast going once the pieces started coming together to fall apart!

Thank you #netgalley for the #arc! #thebigamist #ronahalsall

This book was extremely disappointing and predictable. Not a SINGLE character was likeable. Emma was likable for the first 1/2 of the book, then she ended up looking like a dumb, dumb woman. She was literally a disgrace to womanhood.

Although I enjoyed the narrator, the book was painful to finish. I really hope that I am the anomoly on this, and the book does well, but I will not be recommending it.

The Bigamist is an entertaining thriller full of twists and turns. Although this is a slow burn and may seem predictable at first I recommend sticking with this as you'll be shocked by how things turn out. I do think this was slightly long and dragged out and at times I felt like DNF-ing however I did actually enjoy the overall plot and its twists, only the filler was sometimes a bit too boring or dragged on about. However if you're a fan of twisty thrillers I recommend The Bigamist.