The blurb really caught my attention and I wanted to love the story but I didn’t. I wasn’t a fan of Fran and Gareth at all so this was an extremely slow read.

How to describe this book?

Dark, weird and confusing.

The title had grabbed me and the blurb - but this book was a disappointment in the end.

We knew who’d done it - and who’d been done - but getting to the why was a bit torturous. It started OK, fizzled in the middle and ramped up to the end. However the end was just another disappointment and didn’t fit the rest of the story.

As a school report would say - ‘good effort but could do better’ - perhaps book 2 will be an improvement.

Thank you for the chance to read the ARC in return for my honest opinion

Wickedly funny and deliciously dark, My Wife, the Serial Killer is a brilliantly twisted domestic thriller that keeps you guessing—and laughing—until the final, jaw-dropping twist. H.J. Garbett delivers a sharp satire of marriage, morality, and murder through the eyes of Fran, a suburban wife with a killer instinct, and her increasingly unnerved husband Gareth, a detective whose home life is about to become his biggest case. With biting wit and perfectly timed reveals, this compulsively readable debut is perfect for fans of Killing Eve and How to Kill Your Family. Equal parts clever, chilling, and chaotic—this is one you’ll want to talk about (but maybe not with your spouse).

Fran Donoghue has just killed her neighbor. Don’t worry, you’ll agree, he deserved it.

A domestic thriller that is unhinged, dark, and funny. I was intrigued and hooked from the first page. I love the premise, the plot, and even the chaos, but I didn't like the main characters. I think Detective Gareth could be more grounded, and Fran was all over the place. The writing was engaging, witty, and easy to follow. If you enjoy woman serial killers and some dark, twisty humor, this is for you.

Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher, for the eArc.

This story pulled me right in from the beginning and held my attention throughout - I read it pretty quickly.

The wife commits the murder of a neighbor, for reasons unknown to the reader in the beginning. Her husband is a detective and is assigned to do a welfare check on the neighbor and reports his findings back to his precinct, and the story moves from there.

Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and H.J. Garbett for the ARC!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DKhfsQ7TIM8/?igsh=MWoxMmVrdzVrZDF3YQ==

🩸 Quirky. Quick. Kinda chaotic.

This book sounded like the perfect dark thriller—a secret serial killer wife a detective husband unknowingly investigating her crimes, and a neighbor who “mysteriously disappears” (Fran literally stabbed him in the eye 👀🔪).
The concept? Brilliant. The execution? A little uneven.

The writing style is accessible and engaging, and the plot moves at a brisk pace. But the characters felt oddly written. Fran, our murderous narrator, is somehow still someone you root for… even though she’s, well, actively murdering people. Some character motivations feel underdeveloped, and the psychological depth could have been richer. The story leans more on shock value than emotional complexity, and a few plot points strain believability.

I kept waiting for the dark twists the blurb promised, but they never quite landed. What started strong eventually fizzled, and the ending—meant to shock—felt far too easy to see coming.

Still, if you're into unconventional murder mysteries with a dash of humor and a morally grey (okay, blood-red) female lead, this might just work for you.

3.75⭐️. This novel opens with a bang—literally. Fran Donoghue has just killed her neighbor, and the dry, unapologetic tone makes it hard not to root for her in a twisted sort of way. Her husband, Detective Gareth Donoghue, is left piecing together the aftermath, unaware that the real danger is a lot closer to home. What follows is a darkly comic, genre-bending tale that mixes domestic noir with satirical crime fiction.

Garbett's writing is sharp and clever, and the narrative walks the fine line between absurdity and believability in a way that mostly works. The characters are quirky and flawed in ways that feel intentionally exaggerated, adding to the novel’s offbeat charm.

That said, the pacing falters in the middle. While the premise is strong and the humor biting, certain sections drag on longer than they should. There were times when I found myself wanting the plot to move faster or dig a bit deeper into character motivation. The ending is indeed surprising—and satisfying—but I wish the journey there had held my attention a bit more consistently.

All in all, this is a good read with some great moments, but not quite a standout for me. Still, it’s a bold and fun twist on the domestic thriller.

At times humorous at times dark story that I read in a day. Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

Firstly, thank you so much for the arc.

I am obsessed with Fran & Gareth. Honestly more Fran. I have read a couple of dark comedys before but this was by far the best. I was laughing so much in parts but the story was also amazing. The progression was perfect and it was so well written. I read this in less than 24hrs i couldn't put it down. I loved the relationship Fran and Angus had also and the ending was a fantastic final touch. I would of given the full 5 stars but i wanted more about Frans story from the beginning (if that makes sense).

Can't wait to read more from the author!

My Wife, The Serial Killer was a great debut! I enjoyed the dark humor and the chaos within the book, it was an overall fun read. Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

We follow Fran, the ordinary housewife, married to her policeman husband, Gareth. They have recently moved to a charming neighborhood which they thought would be a perfect setting to finally start their family. There's just one problem, Fran killed the neighbor.

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This one really had so much going for it. The plot sounded interesting and I was really devouring the first half of the book. Once things started taking a legal turn and we got a lot of Gareth's POV, I started struggling. Gareth was such a boring character to read about, it was everything in me to get through some of his chapters. Also, there was talk about infertility that ultimately just felt like filler, rather than spoken about in any meaningful way. After the halfway point, we really lost steam. Which is such a shame, because I was really enjoying myself and getting to know Fran's character and her motives. This is definitely a "why-did-it-happen" rather than a "who-did-it." The ending just fell flat for me, as things declined and the ending felt very forced. We saw characters change their entire personality in the last bit, which made it feel very out of place. Not to mention, we didn't really get the ending you were hoping for.

This one would be perfect for fans that wanted a less gory Mindf*ck series, with the dark sarcastic humor of Finley Donovan.

*Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for my honest review.*

This was such a fun and quirky book! The story vastly differs from my normal reads, but I still found the story enjoyable. I loved being in Fran’s mind. She was hilariously relatable and I had so many laughs every time she would try to be normal while interacting with others. Her relationship with Gareth was sweet and their infertility struggles really resonated with me. I liked that their marriage was not sunshine and rainbows. However, I was so dang mad at Gareth for his actions. I felt personally offended for some strange reason. Maybe because I related to Fran so much — apart from the whole killing thing, lol. The ending was suspenseful and fast-paced, but I do wish we would have gotten an extra chapter or two to see how certain things panned out. That’s just a personal preference, though.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and storm publishing for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!!
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Fran and Gareth are your average married couple with a very geriatric cat. The only bump? Fran murdered her neighbor (and isn’t sorry about it) and Gareth (a local detective) is investigating the aforementioned neighbor's murder not knowing it was Fran who did it.
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This book joins a short list of books I finished in less than 12 hours this year. It was just purely entertaining. It’s such a plot that could be really really dark but somehow isn’t without going out of its way to be fake cozy and light. Books where you root for the “bad guy” are always an entertaining change. It’s also an entertaining change when the characters aren’t perfect at their plot line. Gareth is supposed to be a strait laced detective, who ends up faltering several times. And Fran is a murderer who almost messed up so many times it was giving ME a panic attack, several times I was like CMON FRAN!!! Starting with the murder and feathering out was a fun way to get the story without starting outside the murder and making your way in. I would’ve really loved to get into Fran’s childhood more to really understand what was going on. I know we got the gist of it, but Fran and Angus were such complex, interesting characters I would’ve really loved to hear more about their time in the home.. It is a very fast moving plot full of flawed characters with twists, turns, and conclusions. Honestly, I selfishly want this to be a series. Especially with that epilogue. Give me mooooreeee.

Dark and funny murder mystery. The FMC is unhinged but likable. I laughed, I gasped! I thought it was a good mix of different elements in the book. The MMC is trying to solve the murder. I thought the book was well written. It had suspense which I liked and also had romance and funny moments. Snarky and whitty is a good way to describe the characters.

Thank you for the arc read! I throughly enjoyed it!

I read a lot of romances & YA but I also love a good horror or thriller. While “My Wife, The Serial Killer” was indeed a thriller, it fell short for me. I didn’t like the main characters to be honest. Gareth’s passive golden retriever personality was more annoying than endearing & Fran? Her reckless stupidity was downright infuriating. With that being said, it was a quick read with a humor that I actually enjoyed a lot & a pace that kind of meandered towards the middle & picked up towards the end. Not something that will stick with me & not something I consider a waste of time, just a bit of a disappointment.

Rating: 2.8/5

From the title and accompanying synopsis, I had anticipated "My Wife, the Serial Killer" centering around a serial-killing strong female character à la Villanelle or Sweetpea. However, although this novel is clearly derived from that sphere of influence, author, H.J. Garbett, takes this story down a somewhat different track.

The engaging prologue sets the scene in a gruesome, yet humorous, manner and, at this juncture, it appeared to reaffirm my expectations of the content prior to reading the book. However, alternating between the character perspectives of Fran (the wife) and her police detective husband, Gareth, the story becomes more one of the nature of their relationship and Fran's previously undisclosed personal backstory.

"My Wife, the Serial Killer" is intelligently written and there are numerous examples of witty, understated humour as the plotline unfolds. However, in and of itself, this isn't enough to give the overall pace of the narrative the boost it needs in order to be up there with the best in the genre. I couldn't help feeling that the novel needed a rewrite, or at least some more severe editing, so that its delivery could be punchier and more impactful. Overall, though, this is still a decent read and would not deter me from returning to read more from this debut author.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

My Wife, The Serial Killer by H.J Garbett
Review by Amanda Wilcox
Characters:⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (about 3 1/2 stars)

I started reading My Wife, The Serial Killer on June 1, and finished on June 5. I love me a good psychological thriller and I couldn’t put down this book unless I needed to go to sleep. This book really kept me going. I enjoyed the characters and the story plot overall. Though, I did wish for more. It was a great story. I didn’t want it to end.

I really thought this was a good solid book, for me personally its definitely one of those where I had to read more to truly understand the reasoning behind some of the FMC decisions because they did not make sense at the time.
Did take a little bit to get through but once I did, it did have a comprehensive story.
Overall it was good.
Mep is my favorite character and carried the entirety of it for me.
Personally a 3.25 ⭐️

I am grateful to have received an ARC of this book through Netgalley 🙏🏻 Thank you Storm Publishing!

This was a fast-paced, darkly funny thriller that I had a hard time putting down. I loved the sharp wit and clever banter throughout. It struck the perfect balance between suspenseful and entertaining. Fran is an unapologetic force of nature, fierce and calculating which had me totally invested in her journey.

I did find myself wishing the chapters were shorter as I think it would have made the pacing of the fast moving plot better. And while I was totally invested in Fran and Gareth, I felt some of the other characters could’ve been developed more, like Angus. We get a little bit of his background with Fran when they were growing up but felt like more could have been flushed out with him. And Fran’s fate wasn’t explained after the shocking twist in events at the end, other than she might be still found guilty as an accomplice.

Without giving anything away, the ending didn’t quite land for me. Given what we know about Fran, I expected a different outcome that would have felt truer to her character. Still, it was a gripping reading experience and one I’d definitely recommend to fans of thrillers with a dark comedic edge.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I found myself enjoying both main character perspectives, although frustrated with out FMC at times, I enjoyed the progression. The book had really good pacing, I never felt that there was a dull moment in the story. It was an interesting read overall, even if I found some parts of the plot not to be the most believable at times. I appreciate the early copy and am very much looking forward to reading more books form H. J. Garbett! I could even see a potential second part to this story which I would absolutely read!