I really enjoyed this book and will be looking out for more from the author.
The shifting narrative was great, as I slowly learned about the women's friendship over the years and then what happened that fateful night.
This book hammered home how strong a mother's love is and how a mother will do anything to protect/avenge a child.
It was also a lesson in the fact you never truly know what's going on behind closed doors!
A great read I will be recommending to others.

Another easy five stars for Watson. Just when you think you've read the best she has to offer, she comes back with another belter of a read.

Wife, Mother, Liar is a brilliantly twisty thriller, narrated by best friends and long term neighbours, Jill and Wendy, fueled by their secrets and lies.

Their characters are complicated yet relatable, and they certainly make you question how well do you really know your own neighbours.

A thoroughly enjoyable and engaging read.

Oh my, another compelling, heart in the mouth thriller from the amazing Sue Watson, who never fails to amaze me with the dark depths of her imagination. With each new psychological thriller she writes, I’m left slack jawed and wondering where her mind will take me next time.

Wife, Mother, Liar is a compelling read that is both emotional and incredible at the same time. The story focuses on two families, who start off as neighbours and become friends when Jill and husband Tim move into the house next door to Wendy and Robert. Jill and Wendy are like chalk and cheese, if not for living next door to each other and bringing their children up together they would likely never have gravitated towards each other and formed a friendship. Their lives and that of their children intrinsically linked until suddenly they’re not!

This was a book that seemed to come with a dark cloud, death, depression and deceit peppering all of their lives. I was totally gripped, and changed my allegiance with each of the characters and throughout - such was the quality of writing, no attempts at second guessing got me anywhere close to working out all of the motives and which camp I should stake my flag. I felt anxious throughout, never quite knowing who to trust and how to sift the truth from the lies that peppered the pages - leaving me open mouthed with wonder when Sue Watson slowly but surely dropped her grenades, the fall out from each ricocheting through my mind. The debris from each shattering my thoughts and taking away the ability to tidily wrap up the story.

Sue thank you for yet another page turning thriller that hooked me in and gripped me tightly, I felt breathless and broken as I walked in the footsteps of the plethora of characters, each of whom stole my heart, some quietly and considered, others boldly without apology. Only to then have me hating them and questioning everything I thought I knew. I should now know to expect the unexpected and realise that the alarm on my Fitbit is going to be triggered by the elevated heart rate from the off. Which, whilst reading this book, didn’t seem to drop for most of the second half of the book. Nobody and nothing are actually what they seem with Wife, Liar, Mother, having more twists than a helta skelter - a ride I was pleased to have joined!

I was fortunate to receive a copy of this ARC from Bookouture.

Jill and Wendy go on holiday together having been friends for years, but one of their children is dead after attending their prom with the other child. One of the women has an agenda on the holiday and it was interesting how the dynamic played out as they reflected on their years of friendship.

I did struggle to get Jill and Wendy clear in my mind as separate characters, I couldn't always tell who each chapter's perspective was from aside from checking for the name.

My favourite quote:
"I never analysed our friendship that much; it just happened, in the way a tree grows, or a sponge cake rises.""

This book is told from two different point of views from two women named Jill and Wendy throughout the story. These two were previously next door neighbors and eventually became best friends but that all ends after their two teens go to prom one night but only one returns home. A grieving mother accuses the other of being at fault of the tragedy and is willing to do whatever to get to the bottom of what happened that night. I figured out the big twist early on but it was well written and a crazy outcome. Overall I rate the story a 3.5 because it came off as maybe the author wanted the audience to sympathize with Jill & Wendy but they both were a bit to take in, especially Jill. This is my second read from this author & I enjoy her storytelling so I will definitely be checking out more of her material. Thankful for this complimentary copy on exchange for my honest review.

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️




✨ lies,bestfriend, deceit and secrets.


✨ a mode of emotion on this one. Coming on two povs which is quite confusing sometimes.
Some vote I have is for Jill, losing her son and of course of what happen to her at the end.
And there is Wendy aswell which is been betrayed yet she lied on her bestfriend. Mixed feelings which is different from what usually Sue writes.
I like it but not loving it so far.
Fast paced and the ending was abit rushed.
Probably it’s just me that can’t adapt new scenario but this could work.

✨ audiobook with Tamsin Kennard is a plus! Always on point on narrating.



✨ Thankyou @bookouture for the opportunity to read this arc for a honest review:)




❤️ Shaye.Reads

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest psychological thriller by Sue Watson. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

Jill and Wendy were next door neighbors and best friends, sharing everything. Until the day that Jill's son and Wendy's daughter went to prom, and one didn't return home. Estranged now, Jill invites Wendy to a remote cabin for a girls weekend, to reconnect and hopefully find some answers.

Sue Watson has done it again - once I started this book, it was hard to put down. I love domestic thrillers and this was a good one, told from alternating POV of both women. But who is telling the truth and just what really happened that prom night? The tension builds and secrets start coming out until that shocking end!

In typical true Sue Watson fashion, she weaves a beautifully written intriguing twisting gripping storyline. I was immediately drawn in to both characters story lines, and followed on the edge of my seat to find out who would be the “victor”. There were many twists and turns, however I did find them to be pretty predictable but the way it was written kept me intrigued to the very end.

Sue Watson has a knack of pulling the reader into the story with the very first pages. She has done it again with her new book Wife, Mother, Liar. I found it so addictive I had to keep reading until I'd devoured it.

This complex family drama is told from the POVs of best friends Jill and Wendy. These two women became friends when Jill and her husband moved in next door. The two women seemed inseparable, and did everything together, they even had babies around the same time. But when their children go to the prom together and only one returns, we see the cracks appear in their friendship and learn the lengths a mother will go to in order to protect their child.

I loved the alternating POVs in the telling of this story. Both Jill and Wendy are flawed characters and both women are fiercely protective of their children. The whole story was full of suspense as little nuggets of clues are drip fed through the narrative. I definitely found myself on the edge of my seat as each twist and turn was revealed.

Thank you Bookouture and Netgalley for providing me with a copy to read and review.

My 7th book by the talented Sue Watson and another great story!

Jill and Wendy are friends of old. They met when they were both very young after Jill and her husband, Tim, moved in next door to Wendy and her husband Robert. Their friendship blossomed until a tragic accident caused their close friendship to shatter. It’s been over a year since they last saw each other, and they decide to catch up with a girlie weekend away in Wales. Both ladies have recently separated from their husbands and so subsequently feel like they need a break from their lives. When Wendy realises the holiday cottage Jill has booked is in the area where the events of the terrible tragedy begun, just a few years earlier, which ripped both families and their friendship apart, she hopes this is what Jill needs for closure. She hopes Jill can finally put the past in the past and draw a line under everything that happened. However, Jill is still desperate to find out the truth and Wendy has secrets of her own that she doesn’t want to share. Jill has no intention of leaving the past in the past but how far will she go in her pursuit to uncover the truth and get justice for her lost son, Leo? And in trying to find answers is she playing a risky game with dangerous people?!

Another brilliant read from Sue Watson, I find I can never go wrong when I pick up a book by her. I could feel the tension between Jill and Wendy right from the very first page and this carried on all the way through the book. It was a very strange friendship that, honestly, I couldn’t really understand, especially as they both continued to play cat and mouse with each other, but this was written really well. I didn’t really like either Jill or Wendy but this didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the plot. I really thought Tim was a jerk though. I must admit the first half of the book was a bit of a slow burn but just after half way through, the story really picked up pace and in the last quarter of the book the truths were being uncovered thick and fast. There were so many twists, and I didn’t see any of them coming (which is very good considering I do read a lot of psychological thrillers) so a really great job by Sue Watson!

This was a fabulous, twisted tale that I wholly enjoyed and would recommend for any fans of the psychological thriller genre, a very well deserved 4 star rating!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sue Watson and Bookouture for my advanced reading copy. Out now.

I haven't been reading very many thrillers lately, but this book has made me want to change that. I loved the way that this story is told from alternating perspectives. It truly kept me guessing. There were a couple of things I was able to figure out and others that left me puzzled. Most of the time, I didn't know who was lying and who deserved my empathy. Truthfully, I was skeptical of all the characters at one point or another.


The ending wrapped the story up nicely and answered all the questions. Definitely goes to show you need to be very careful who you let into your life. Even those closest to you are capable of hurting you.


I'll definitely be checking out some more Sue Watson titles. Thanks to bookouture for providing a copy in exchange for my honest review.

In a nod to one of Sue Watson's earlier books, I wanted to write an analogy for her latest, Wife, Mother, Liar using lemon cake. Unfortunately, however, I couldn't think of one that really fitted, so instead I'm going to use the analogy of my new kitchen (which might possibly be used to make lemon cake in one day).

We finally got round to having it fitted last year, and Mrs Book Nook is very pleased with it. And I quite agree that it looks nice - or at least it will, once the walls have been painted in whatever colour she finally decides to go for. But there are a couple of minor, and frankly, unnecessary details that infuriate me.

First of all, there's the - for want of a better way of putting it - touch screen hob, where operating it requires pressing your finger against some sensors. The trouble is that you can also activate the sensors by taking a tray out of the oven and putting it down in the wrong place. Cue some swearing and wondering what on earth was wrong with turning a little knob instead.

Worse, though, is the under-cupboard lighting. Which, actually, wouldn't be bad at all if a remote control wasn't the only way of turning it on and off. Had I been at home when the electrician fitted this, I would, as politely and firmly as I could have managed, told him to insert said remote control up his bottom and wire said lighting to a switch on the wall instead. But I wasn't, so he didn't. And the result is that the remote control has already got lost and we've spent I don't know how much on some lights we can't use.

In other words, my opinion is that overthinking, or over-developing, a few small details has served to partly spoil what is otherwise a fine product. But here's the thing. The fact that kitchen shops sell touch-sensor hobs and remote control operated lighting suggests that there are plenty of people out there who actually like it - or at least, aren't bothered enough either way for it to matter.

This isn't really a fair comparison to Wife, Mother, Liar, given that I didn't find it anything like that annoying. Indeed, I'd go so far as to say that at least two-thirds, or even four-fifths of it are my favourite Sue Watson book yet.

Told from the dual points of view of Jill and Wendy, it illustrates - slowly - just how fragile a friendship between two neighbours can be, and how - slowly, and over time - it can deteriorate into something far more uncomfortable. And how far-reaching and long-lasting the consequences of a small mistake can be.

This isn't a book that immediately shocks the reader in order to grab their attention. But it's not a slow-burner that caresses the reader into the story either. It felt more like I was being slowly sucked into a black hole, failing to really see how dark it was becoming until it had already happened. I could easily see how one of the two women was prepared to do something drastic in her desperation to find the truth. And whilst I couldn't quite understand how desperate the other was to stop her - because we're not told why until very late on - Sue Watson managed to show me without telling me that she was doing so for what she believed were the best of intentions.

I also loved the setting, which had both women stuck in the sort of cut-off location that Sue is able to describe so well - in this case, a lonely, remote cottage in a lonely, remote part of Wales. And I thought the way the solution is revealed is fantastic: it manages, cleverly, to increase the suspense at a time when the reader would otherwise be feeling relieved.

So far, so very, very good. The problem for me was that the niggles came right at the end. I could sort of see what Sue was trying to do with the final plot twist, which is change our perceptions of a particular character. However, for me this didn't come across quite strongly enough, with the result that it felt like an extra twist had been included purely for the sake of it. I could also see why it was necessary for the plot to include a character that suffered from dementia. However, speaking as someone who lost my dad to that same terrible disease, I really didn't enjoy reading the one chapter in particular that showed him to be being treated with what amounted to cruelty.

My advice to you, however is this. Ignore these criticisms for what they are - the ramblings of a sad old git - read the book and enjoy. Because otherwise, Wife, Mother, Liar is wonderful.

As wonderful, in fact, as a slice of your favourite lemon cake. Provided the server in the cafe hasn't added a dollop of ice cream - no, just no - and a single strawberry - no, that doesn't make it healthy - and use that as justification to charge for a single slice what they probably paid for the entire cake.

There you go, I managed it after all.

My thanks to Bookouture for including me on the blog tour, and to Netgalley for the digital ARC. I will post my review on Goodreads, Amazon and my social media pages.

Wow such a complex family drama, enhanced by unreliable narrators who build up the suspense from beginning to end as dark secrets start to unravel!

Wife, Mother, Liar is a fast-paced psychological thriller told in dual POV from Jill and Wendy – neighbours who become friends.
The story focuses about motherhood and also brings up other important themes such as grief, love, hope, trust, family, friendships as well as relationships.

I thoroughly enjoyed witnessing each confession, each betrayal and each secrets revealed, with all the clues coming together to form one big picture by the end.
Some even really surprised me; I was shocked!

Overall, this book was such a page turner!
The unexpected twists and turns throughout the story had my eyes glued to my Kindle, and in the end, I was rewarded with a surprising conclusion!

This my first book by this author and it won’t be the last. I’m looking forward to read more books by this author in the future!

⚠️ 𝐓𝐖: infidelity, miscarriage, toxic parenting, medical content

For me this was definitely a book of two halves. I really struggled to feel any empathy with either Jill or Wendy in the first half and found it quite a slow read up to the half way mark. Then everything came at once and the story really picked up for me. The ending was good and overall I enjoyed the read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early copy of this book.

I got invested in this book from the first chapter I loved how the two timelines in the book had interesting stories I loved how the characters were interesting and so well written... I love how I was confused and kept changing my mind regarding every character every chapter I am glad I discovered this author and I am so excited to read more of her books my only comment is that the plot twits wasn't so surprising I kinda expected it at some point but overall I really loved this book

This book was a constant roller coaster ride that delves into complex relationships between two women, their marriages to their respective husbands, and the loss of their children, physically and mentally. The two women first met when one of them moved into the neighborhood and the two grow close. Their two kids also become close, begin dating, and go to the prom together, where only one of them comes back alive. Afterwards, their friendship has never been the same.

This book is told through the POV of Jill, the mother who lost her son, Leo, and has dealt with her husbands infidelity for years, and Wendy, a mother of three, including daughter Olivia. The switching back and forth between the two different perspectives was hard to get used to at first, especially since the different characters are still being introduced and I did get them mixed up for the first few chapters. However, once I did get used to it, I enjoyed the fact that the story was told from both POVs. Jill's chapters focused on her grief and loss of Leo, whose death was ruled and accident, but she doesn't believe it, and her belief that Wendy and her daughter Olivia know what actually happened to Leo.

As for the unpredictability of the story and what actually happened, I wouldn't really say that anything surprised me until the very end. I didn't really expect that would happen, and honestly, I really liked that shock. As for the rest of the book, I wasn't really on the edge of my seat or anything, more just intrigued by the story, but I wasn't gripped and things were a bit repetitive. I do wish that there were more surprises throughout the story. I knew what Jill's plan was, I figured out some of what had happened that night, and I think the foreshadowing at the end of a lot of the chapters kind of actually took away from the story. I get it, there is suspense and accusations are being thrown around non-stop, but it did get a bit old. "Let me accuse your daughter of having something to do with my son's murder, and then let's go back to our girls weekend trip away". It was just a bit strange to me how accusations were thrown out, they would get into a fight, and then go back to normal.

I couldn't really get behind Jill. I understand, she had lost a son, and wanted to find out what had happened to him, but there were times when I feel like she could have gone about things differently. But I guess that's just her struggling with grieving him. And as for Wendy, I knew that something was fishy, and that she wanted what was best for her daughter, but she wasn't really complex. She was acting weird, and it was foreshadowed that she could have been hiding something. It didn't really leave a whole lot of space for surprises.

Overall, the pacing of this book made it enjoyable and there was always something happening, just not a whole lot that stuck with me.

Thank you to Sue Watson, Bookouture, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. This is my honest review.

Sue Watson’s First Date is one of the very first blog tours I did and I was hooked. All these years later, I still love reading her books. They are complicated family dramas with twists and turns that always seem to catch me off guard.

A dual POV story with best friend’s Wendy and Jill as the narrators. They are estranged from their husbands and each other and making an effort to strike their friendship back up. Each has a secret as to why now is the time to try again. It definitely caught me off guard starting on page one. It’s filled with friendship and relationship drama, secrets, and lots of lies. I was proud I figured out one small piece, because this one stunned me more than once. The book lulled me in with it’s slow start and focus on the friendship. But don’t let that fool you, because it builds to a ton of tension and quite the bang.

I like how Wendy and Jill’s relationship was layered and how those layers were slowly revealed during their weekend away. It is cleverly constructed to reveal only what is necessary at the time and those reveals kept changing the trajectory of their resparked friendship. I was constantly wanting to know more and couldn’t read it fast enough.

4⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy of Wife, Mother, Liar.

Next door neighbors and best friends Jill and Wendy have lived next door and raised their kids together for almost twenty years. Then there kids go to the prom together and only one comes home. It changes their lives forever. Jill will not give up finding out what happened to her child and she will get revenge because she knows Wendy has been lying to her. But when the truth comes to light it will change everything.

I enjoyed this thriller and it honestly had me guessing until the very end. I liked the dual points of view and the writing style.

Jill and Wendy were newlyweds when they found themselves next door neighbors that soon led to them becoming best friends. After several miscarriages, Jill and her husband, Tim, had one son, Leo. He was the love of her life and she carefully protected him. Wendy and Robert had two sons and a daughter, Olivia, just two weeks older than Leo.

It wasn’t until time for their prom the Leo and Olivia began seeing one another. However, something happened that night when Leo went missing and later was found dead. It’s been 18 months and Jill and Tim have separated, yet Jill can’t help but feel that someone murdered Leo. So, she rents a cottage in Wales and invites Wendy for a weekend of chatting. Wendy and Robert are also separated and Olivia is living with Robert in Spain.

In Wales, Wendy does not like the remoteness of the cottage and finds Jill to be in a strange mood. She had not wanted to come but wants to help her friend. They have in-depth conversations fueled with glasses of wine about their past lives together and what happened with Leo. But this soon leads to a devastating ending to the weekend. What follows is the truth coming out on what their intertwined lives were all about.

There were times in the book that I felt that the rehashed conversations repeated over and over were getting old. There are some revelations that come out in the ending that saved the book for me, enabling me to give it a better rating. I'm curious to know what other readers think.

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

Happy Publication Day to what I think is Sue Watson’s best book yet.

Jill and Wendy have been best friends for 25 years. Ever since the day Jill and her husband, Tim, moved in next door to Wendy and her husband, Robert. They did everything together from being newlyweds to having babies and raising their children. Right up until the day their children went to prom together and one of them didn’t come home. Eighteen months later and the grieving mother is still searching for answers, unable to accept the official ruling of accidental death. She’s sure her best friend is lying to her about what happened that night, and this weekend she intends to get to the truth…

OMG. What a ride this was! Tense, twisty, surprising, and totally addictive, this is a thriller that will get your heart racing and make your jaw drop. It had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish as I tried to predict what would happen next. But Watson kept me on my toes with her expert writing that was filled with chilling tension, dark secrets and some really moving moments. There was no time to recover as she moved from one twist to another at breakneck speed and all I could do was enjoy the ride. It was impossible to put down, and I actually fell asleep reading it in the early hours and then picked it up as soon as I’d had my coffee the next morning. And that ending! I’m still reeling.

Nothing and no-one is what they seem in this story. Especially not Jill and Wendy. From the start we know that both women are keeping secrets about the night Leo died, but we don’t know how much they know or if either of them was involved. We also don’t know if Leo’s death was murder like Jill believes or a tragic accident like the police ruled. Moving seamlessly between timelines, we see glimpses of their friendship and their lives in flashbacks, while in the present they reminisce about old times and try to avoid the elephant in the room. It soon becomes clear that this friendship has never been what it seemed and both women have ulterior motives for getting together this weekend. The tension was sky-high and it felt like no-one was going to get out of this unscathed.

Dark, sinister and totally riveting, this is a must-read for any thriller lover.