Happy Wife- Happy Life they say. This was such a fast paced twisty psychological mystery thriller. I was captivated in the beginning with the characters we are introduced to in the story. The story is told from Nora’s perspective in a dual timeline of before and current. Nora meets Will after she finds his teenage daughter in a situation at the country club. These two have an instant connection they explore and turns into a whirlwind romance, marriage and everything seems perfect as it could be. There are secrets, twists and such a compelling story.

Meet Cute: Nora, a 28 year old underemployed museum host/ swim instructor, notices a teenage girl stealing (alcoholic) drinks from the country club bar and then later finds her hugging the porcelain throne in the locker room. She offers to call her dad to come pick her up. Enter Hot Mean Lawyer, recently divorced and almost 20 years Nora's senior.

Cue whirlwind romance and major culture shock as she fast tracks to the tippity top of the upper class. Nora is no match for the Lilly Pulitzer mafia and, as the "young, dumb, pretty wife," fails to meet their impossible standard. (Imagine Real Housewives of Winter Park, FL.) Luckily she becomes fast friends with her spunky neighbor the night she drunkenly falls through their shared shrubbery. She'll lean on this relationship heavily when HML disappears the night of his 46th birthday bash. Beyond that, I don't want to spoil anything!

Told in alternating pre- and post-disappearance chapters, this suspense was really hard to put down! It's the epitome of an addictive summer read. It's not groundbreaking or mind-blowing, but it's entertaining!

Thanks NetGalley and Ballantine for the ARC!

This was my first book by these authors, and it certainly won’t be my last!

I found this book to be an enjoyable, quick summer thriller about a woman who married into a rich family and wakes up one morning after a party to find her husband is missing. Told through multiple timelines, this book kept me hooked and wanting to know how it all played out. A bit predictable, but it all came together perfectly! I will absolutely be recommending this to anyone who’s looking for an easy, read-by-the-pool thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine for the eARC.

This book was fun!! I really enjoyed the short and fast paced chapters, the unraveling of the plot, the dual timeline, it all worked for me. I did not predict the ending either which was a true treat!

Happy Wife was written with an excellent description of the location and characters.
Nora for me was easy to like and I got a connection to her as I read.
Nora married Will – who was much older than her. This fits the story very well. After Will’s birthday party he is found dead. As expected, all fingers point to Nora as being the guilty one.
This book is a perfect beach read. This is a Read with Jenna Book Club Pick.
Thank you NetGalley, Meredith Lavender; Kendall Shores and Random House Publishing Group. This is my personal review.

Happy Wife tells the engaging story of Nora, a young woman who has married an older man within a wealthy country club setting, earning the wrath of his ex wife and her friends. Nora’s life is now like that of a fairy tale until Will disappears late one night. As more back story is revealed Nora finds herself in the hot seat of the murder investigation once Will’s body is recovered. Nora begins to feel lonely as Will seems so wrapped up in his job.
The country club setting adds dimension to the plot line as does Nora’s sleuthing episodes. Her relationship with Este, her best friend and next door neighbor, and her husband Beau makes Nora more relatable, as does her relationship with Marcus. Will’s partner in the law firm, Fritz, and his wife bring the drama. He truly is detestable.
Happy Wife was an engaging mystery that left me satisfied, but wishing a happier ending for Nora and Marcus.
Many thanks to Meredith Lavender, Bantam, and NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this just published book. Four stars.

This ended up being a DNF for me at 45%. While I liked the premise of the book, the pacing was waaaay too slow, and most of the characters were completely unlikeable. There was nothing to keep me invested in the story, and with my schedule lately, it would have taken me months to finish. There was just no grip or drive for me to keep going.

Perhaps I will pick it up again in a few months and try again, but for now, 2 stars was the best I could do.

**Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for sending this book for review. All opinions are my own.**

Thank you NetGalleynfor the ARC for my review. This was my first book by these authors it is quite the psychological thriller. Poor Nora married into a crazy life and being an outsider among the wealthy. She married Will, a successful lawyer,, and the love of her life. Will ends up dead and she is under investigation for his death since she is the outsider, she takes it upon herself to do her own investigation and find out who killed Will and prove she is innocent. This book is quite the page turner and I couldn’t wait to find out how it ended.

I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

This thrilling novel, told in dual timelines, finds Nora Davies in a desperate search to locate her husband, Will, who has disappeared after his birthday party. Nora and Will’s love story provides an excellent backdrop that builds tension to a nail biting conclusion.
I found myself rooting for them to triumph over their challenges including a community that shunned Nora, nefarious business dealings, and questions about what true love really is. Rife with interesting characters, some of whom are likeable and some who are not, this fast based story will keep you guessing.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

This was such a twisty read, I was definitely invested in the mysterious disappearance and every reveal had me second-guessing what I thought I knew.

Nora, 28 and Will, 46, Somerset are hosting a party at their lavish Winter Park, Florida home to celebrate his birthday. Will is a successful attorney partnering with Fritz Hall, a smug man who lives off his family money. This is the second marriage for Will who is divorced from Constance and they are the parents of Mia, 14. Constance hates Nora and does not like for Mia to stay with them. Her jealousy is insane.

The morning after the party Nora wakes to find Will not in bed with her. As they were about the retire the night before, he had received a call from Mia who said she left her jacket in her boat and wanted him to get it in case it rained. That’s the last time Mia saw him. Thinking that he might be holed up in the Ritz hotel working on a case which he often does, Nora figures that’s where he is but is frustrated because he will not take her calls. Will’s partner, Fritz, comes by and is angry at Nora for not calling the police and does so himself. Now, Nora is truly worried and wonders what has happened to her husband.

When Will is found dead floating in a lake, Nora is devastated. But Fritz and some of his snooty friends do what they can to make it appear that Nora killed Will. Thus begins a tough battle to prove her innocence. As she digs deeper, she undercover some really scary dealings and knows who she thinks is to blame.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat. The snooty people in their enclave were a bit of a hoot to me. It’s amazing how incredibly mean women can be to other women in an effort to make themselves appear superior. But downfalls can be spectacular. Come read this book and enjoy some of them.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

HAPPY WIFE, happy life? Meredith Lavender and Kendall Shores would have to answer; maybe not.

Tongues are wagging in Winter Park, Florida when 46 year old personal injury attorney, Will Somerset courts and marries 28 year old, Nora Davies after a whirlwind romance. But when Will goes missing the day after a lavish birthday party thrown for him by Nora the good folks of Winter Park feel they were correct in their assessments of her. His law partner, Frederick.’Fritz’ Hall III, and his wife, Gianna are convinced that she has done away with him and make it obvious when dealing with detective Travis Ardell. Fritz is a pompous, blow hard who still needs to treat Nora with some acumen due to her being Will’s wife. Nora is convinced that Will has just gone underground for some reason. She is convinced that she is going to have to clear her own name and with the help of her best friend., Este and her husband, Beau, she sets out to do just that. But what of her growing attraction to restaurant owner and chef, Marcus? Could her marriage have been as solid as she believed if she is finding herself attracted to another man without even proof that her husband is dead?

I loved this book, the glitzy glam, the opulence and the backstabbing all made for a very enjoyable read. I love mysteries with rich people as I will never know how the one percent lives. Do I want to? The writing was clear and concise which will keep this duo at the top of my list of authors to watch.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC opportunity. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

Happy Wife - Meredith Lavender and Kendall Shores
Pub Date - 6/24/25
Rating - 3/5
Thoughts - Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this gifted advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. I'm always up for a "rich people doing bad things" troupe and this one was good and definitely fast paced. Nora, a 28 year old swim instructor at a prominent club meets Will, a 46 year old rich, divorced lawyer meet at the club, have a quick romance, and get married within 6 months of meeting each other. After Will's 46th birthday party, he is found dead by the police and Nora is the prime suspect.

I thought the ending of this was predictable. It followed all the clues that the authors placed throughout leading to the person I thought did the crime. It was a good read for the summer - fast paced and easy.

“Happy Wife” is a thriller following Will & Nora Somerset & their whirlwind romance. One day Will goes missing & eventually turns up dead & Nora is, of course, the prime suspect. Nora must work to figure out who killed her husband & clear her name once & for all.

I really enjoyed this one! It has short chapters & dual timelines, telling the story of how Will & Nora met & fell in love while simultaneously telling the story of what’s happening after his disappearance. It was an enjoyable read, although somewhat predictable. The twist wasn’t really shocking & I had it somewhat figured out but I would still recommend this book to any thriller fan.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this ARC.

My first Meredith Lavendar/Kendall Shores book but definitely not my last! A fantastic cast of characters kept me flipping pages long into the night. Dark, twisty and totally captivating. Never a dull moment.
Thank you NetGalley, Meredith Lavendar, Kendall Shores and Bantam Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is not at all what was thinking this book would be when I started. The writing is snappy and fresh, the characters are great, most of them. I was expecting a ditzy twenty something marrying a 46 year old man for his money and lifestyle. That is not the case. Nora was mature beyond her age and didn’t take anything from anybody. This moved fast and the setting was fun. Winter Park Florida. It’s fun to see how the elite live but I would want to be involved in any of the shenanigans. I hope this will become a series. If not a series, I hope the authors continue to write. I look forward to reading more.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 4⭐️

Happy Wive” by Meredith Lavender and Kendall Shores is fabulous! Well written with great dialogue and great characters.

Nora is working two jobs to get by when she meets Will, an older successful lawyer. Set in the wealthy enclave of Winter Park Florida. Old money rules the town. With the age difference and being the 2nd wife, the cards were stacked against Nora. Sadly, Will goes missing and the first place they go for answers is the new wife. What really happened to Will? This is a page turner. Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam Books for this advance read. Go order your copy now! Comes out July 1st

Happy Wife takes place in the wealthy and aristocratic area of Winter Park, Florida. Norah Davies is a struggling 20 year old who happens to meet local attorney Wil Somerset. He is a famous attorney who works with local high end Fritz. Norah marrying Wil feels like a dream come true. The Winter Park snobs are slow to welcome her but she can take it and makes good friends with her next door neighbor. Norah throws Wil a amazing 46th birthday party that Wil disappears from and no one knows where he is at. The book is a easy beach read with a good mystery. The detail on Winter Park is a lot. Overall, a good read.

I absolutely DEVOURED this book. A fast paced domestic thriller that would be perfect for a vacation read on the beach. I loved the short chapters and the dual timelines. The plot kept me engaged and there were plenty of twists and turns. Will definitely recommend to friends.