this book is suspenseful psychological thriller set in a small, tight-knit town where every secret is buried deep, and nothing is what it seems. Jude, newly divorced, moves to Lowbridge and finds herself entangled with Will, a widower with a mysterious and tragic past. As rumors swirl about the deaths of his wives, Jude becomes determined to uncover the truth. As she digs deeper, the darkness of Lowbridge threatens to engulf her, and she must decide how far she’s willing to go to protect Will—and herself—from the chilling whispers of a community ready to condemn. In a town where the past is never truly buried, will Jude uncover the truth or become its next victim?

Two dead wives... is it bad luck or murder? This the question in It's Always the Husband. This thriller follows a group of school mothers/spouses and a single dad with two deceased former spouses. This book was a bit slow to start, but I got into it quickly. I like that each chapter is told from a different person's point of view. It keeps the book moving. The last 25% of the book was extremely fast paced and a lot happened. I think a bit too much action was packed into the ending and I had to reread a couple parts because it moved so quickly. It was a fun domestic thriller that I would recommend to those who enjoy this genre.

Another fast paced, rollercoaster of a ride from this author. Do you ever really know who to trust? This book will have you taking a closer look at those you meet during the school run!

When Jude, who’s recently divorced, moves to Lowbridge, she is drawn, through her daughter’s school friendship, to single dad Will. But is everything as it seems? What really happened to his previous wives? As we meet more of the ‘school mums’ the story twists and turns with secrets and revelations right up until the very last sentence!

This author builds the suspense and suspicion, but how well do we really know any of these characters?? As we find out more, your interest will swap and change, never quite knowing if anyone is who they appear to be.

It’s well written and will be a favourite amongst CL Taylor fans and also great as a first find from this author.

Her earlier books have been a hit with people at my local book club, so I am sure they will love this one too.

4.5 stars

Really enjoyed this latest release from C L Taylor who never disappoints. The cast of characters is wide enough to give range but not be confusing. the pacing was just perfect and the ending? I love a late surprise.

Excellent book. C.L.Taylor never disappoints. In my opinion was not as good as her others but still kept you wondering.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an early release of this book.

Another cracker from CL Taylor. This time set at the school gates with a cast including the Alpha mum who seems to know everything about everyone and all of her hangers on plus those other mums on the periphery of the clique.

A new single mum Jude who gets involved with a widowed dad at the school whose first wife died under slightly mysterious circumstances and now his second wife has mysteriously gone missing. You can imagine all the school gossip associated with this!

There is a large cast of characters to get to grips with but you manage to get to know them all quite quickly but everything is not as it first seems as there are various subplots there to get you to change your mind as to who is telling the truth. The ending was very clever and it leaves you questioning certain things. I feel there is a chance that this book would lend itself to a sequel. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Good easy read. The school gate mothers. A good twist and I never expected the murderer until near the end. Therefore kept me paging turning. The diary was a good twist as well.

Release: June 5, 2025
Author: CL Taylor
Publisher: Avon Books

Rating: 3.75 ★ 

When newly divorced Jude moves to the quiet town of Lowbridge, she quickly connects with Will, a widower whose daughter is friends with her own. But Will’s past is surrounded by tragedy — two women he loved died under mysterious circumstances, and the town is full of rumors that he may be to blame. Determined not to let gossip destroy an innocent man, especially with her own father’s death weighing on her, Jude starts digging for the truth. But in a place like Lowbridge, where secrets are everywhere, uncovering the truth might be more dangerous than she ever imagined.

I was excited to dive into its always the husband, and overall, it delivered a twisty, fast-paced mystery that kept me turning the pages. The story is told through short chapters and multiple POVs, which kept the energy up but also made it a little tricky to keep track of everyone. At times, there were so many characters that by the end, I found myself forgetting who a few people even were — I probably should’ve taken notes!

The plot itself had a good mix of twists — some I saw coming, others completely surprised me — and the small-town setting with all its gossip and secrets really pulled me in. Jude’s relationship with Will added a lot of tension, especially with the rumors surrounding him, and I liked the way the story explored trust and paranoia among the group of school moms.

While it did take a little while for me to fully get into it (mainly because of all the POV shifts), once things clicked into place, I was hooked. I do wish the character development had gone a bit deeper, and there were a couple of slow patches and minor inconsistencies, but overall it was an entertaining and easy read.

If you’re looking for a fast-paced mystery full of secrets, lies, and a few genuinely shocking twists, this is a solid pick — especially if you’re already a fan of C.L. Taylor.


Favorite Quote:
"it's always the husband. You can always count on the husband being the one with something to hide."

This was a brilliant book!
As soon as I saw it listed I was hoping I would be accepted! Thank you for the ARC copy of this I really appreciate it!

I was excited yo pick this up and start reading.

It had short chapters which were told in many POV’s. I found the storyline good and there were plot twists throughout the book, some unexpected and some expected.

My only problem was that there too many characters for me, so much so that when the ending came, I’d forgotten who the person was!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I should have taken notes because there were so many characters, I could only keep the main people straight. By the time I got to the end I was searching the electronic document to see if I’d heard of someone before.

Jude is divorced when she arrives in the small town of Lowbridge and meets the handsome single father Will at the school gates. Both his wife and last girlfriend are dead, but Jude ignores the gossip, of which there is a lot, and not just about Will.

When two of the moms are blackmailed and a soon-to-be-ex-husband ends up dead, the moms get together to root out the mysterious blackmailer, except no one trusts anyone, which makes sticking to plans challenging.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES JUNE 5, 2025.

This is an exceptional thriller set around the families, well really the mums and dads, at the school drop off and pick up. At the heart of every school there are the in-crowd mums, who gather together at the gates and gossip about those outside the inner circle. When one of the dads is welcoming to a new mum, the inner circle bitchily let her know he has lost a wife and girlfriend in suspicious circumstances.

Very well written and so relatable to those who have been around the tension of the relationships formed at the school gates. The group excluding those they wish to and even sometimes someone of their own number. They all appear to have secrets and they may be leading to disastrous consequences.

Loved the characters and the storylines. I tried and failed to work out the identity of the blackmailer, the thief and the person responsible for the deaths.

Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I've read a lot of books by C.L Taylor so she is a go to author for me. However, I was not drawn into this book like I usually am. This one let me down a little. As much as there was alot happening - especially towards the end, and many twists and turns it also felt slow and kind of dragged a bit. I did feel like there was a couple of plot inconsistencies too which let me down. Overall, the story is a decent story if you want something easy to read.

This one was hard for me to get into and read. It was a little bit too slow pacing for me which had me bored at times.

This is my first read by this author and it had several plot twists. There were a lot of characters to keep track of so the reader has to pay close attention down to the very last page! This book includes the drama of the afterschool pickup crew and the mystery of a “who dunnit”.

Thank you to C.L, Taylor, NetGalley, and Avon for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have not read CL Taylor for a while though her earlier books were great. Sadly this one was not great and seemed to be full of bitchy women and I was not able to identify with the characters. I hate to say this but I did not finish it as I found it boring. Sorry to the author and NetGalley

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jude is new in town and her daughter has made one friend. The father of that friend, Will, is a bit of an outcast because his wife and his partner before his wife have both died and the town suspects foul play. Regardless, Jude gets involved with him, but then starts to worry that maybe there is something to the rumors.

It took a little bit for me to get into this book, because there were a lot of characters introduced and I had to keep them straight. Also, there were chapters from various points of view and I couldn't understand why we cared about that person's point of view, but it started making sense about halfway through and I started getting more interested. Overall it was a good read.

This is such a clever and compelling book. It sets up to be all about Jude and the mysterious Will but the other characters are interesting too. I love the author’s depiction of the school gates mums. You think they are just cliches but there’s something bubbling beneath the surface. The casual sexism and misogyny of the male characters makes you despise them even more. No threads are left hanging and the ending is unexpected and superb. Who can you trust in this intriguing scandalous neighbourhood? I’ll certainly be looking to read this author’s other books. Denise

This is a fast-moving, thoroughly enjoyable novel – just what you’d expect from this bestselling crime author. Her characters are realistic and memorable (I particularly remember the initially despicable Victoria) while the story gallops along, throwing out red herrings and twists at every turn. The book centres on a group of mothers who regularly meet at the school gates – some belong to the Victoria-led in-group, while others are excluded. Newcomer Jude befriends a surly father, Will, but discovers he may be a murderer. Secrets, lies and abhorrent behaviour abound as the story unfolds, and no-one is quite who they seem. I raced through this novel, loving the pace and suspense.

A twisty, fast-paced mystery that kept me turning the pages! While it lacked originality and deeper character development, the multiple POVs and small-town setting made it an easy, engaging read. The ending was truly shocking!