This is a dark, twisty domestic thriller set in a small town and centring around a local pastor, his wife and a newcomer from out of town. So many dark secrets, so many ulterior motives and so much suspicion surrounds this church, its leadership and congregation.
Lots of twists and turns in this slow building book which is expertly narrated to offer a very immersive experience.
I am grateful to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced listener copy of this recommended audiobook.

Audiobook: Narrators - Stephanie Cannon and Patricia Rodriguez

These narrators both have engaging voices that brought an atmospheric southern tone to the story. That said, I didn’t realize there were two narrators at first, partly because of similar accents and delivery styles. It occasionally made it hard to tell whose perspective we were in, especially before character specific dialogue kicked in to clarify. Still, once the rhythm settled, I appreciated their performances and how they captured the tension beneath the surface.

This story had me questioning everything and everyone from the beginning. I usually try to get ahead of a plot, guessing where the author is leading me, but not this time. The use of time jumps kept me constantly on my toes, unable to predict motivations, relationships, or outcomes. While they added a fascinating layer to the suspense, I’ll admit that following along via audiobook made those transitions a bit tricky to track.

That said, the story is anything but confusing. It’s sharp, clever, and full of tension, with character development that’s as central as the mystery itself. Each reveal pulled me deeper, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was always just slightly off…in the best way. The unease, the secrets, the subtle dread, it was all woven together beautifully.

If you're looking for a thriller that grips you tight and keeps you guessing, this one delivers.

Well full disclosure this book was disturbing in that the realism displayed insofar as certain crimes that are in the limelight in the news at times. I don’t want to give any spoilers so forgive the cryptic nature.

I was fortunate to be able to do an immersion read for this book with both the eARC and the Audio ALC and it was the perfect experience. Usually when I do such a read I’m trying to ascertain which format suits the book better for those that have a choice of how to read. But in this case they both were equally effective but even better together.

That narrators Stephanie Cannon and Patricia Rodriguez both did a fabulous job with this Duel POV book which centers around Martha and Marys perspective in their mentor/ mentee type relationship and their interactions and life with The Pastor in a multi timeline thriller. They both spoke at a good even pace for the 1x speed but it also translates very well to increasing the speed. I was able to listen to it at 2.5x with no issues. However, I would have listened at 2x speed had I not been able to follow along with the digital copy.

The physical copy enables the reader to more easily follow along with the time line as it does jump around a lot and there are many small sub plots to make sense of. That’s probably where the book suffers a bit as there was a bit too many side issues going on. I will say that I did find the twists a bit predictable but I enjoyed the ride regardless.

So if your looking for a thriller that a bit on the darker side filled with more than a few twisted individuals, this book is for you as it comes out on June 16th 2025

I am thankful to have gotten both a complimentary audio ALC and the eARC from Bookouture and Bookouture Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

This one is an edge of your seat read. Even in a small town like this one with so few people, the real question is still, who can you possibly trust. This book will keep you guessing till the very end. I am hoping this author will write a book to about Charlotte. I would love to visit these characters again.

OMG, OMG, OMG!

I wanted to love "The Pastor's Wife," but I didn't.

WHY?

At times, the book's folksy small-town dialogue was cringeworthy.

Many of the book's twists were contrived and eye-rolling.

I listened to the audiobook, expertly narrated by Stephanie Cannon and Pat Rodriguez.

I always enjoy full-cast narrations, and both narrators gave outstanding performances.

Special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.76 🌟

Buckle up, prepare for the ride and expect to still walk away with whiplash.

From the first chapters of say the narrators more than the story baited and hooked me more than the story did, it didn’t take long though until I was completely immersed the story. I loved that lonely down in her luck Martha found a friend in Mary, the pastors wife, but something sinister is seeping in from the past. Is it from Martha’s past though?

Don’t read the synopsis, just dive right in. It’s difficult not to spoiler.

This was really a 5 🌟 read tight until the very end, which was good but i expected slightly more.

Huge thanks to Bookouture audio via NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ALC 🎧

This book kept my attention the entire way through. So much scandal in one little town. Right when you think you know it all, another turn comes. This book was one to remember. The character development was great and had you living or hating each character pretty quickly. Come all ye faithful.

ARC Review 🎧
The Pastor's Wife - Lyndee Walker
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Blurb
Whitney Falls was supposed to be the perfect place for me to disappear, with its quiet leafy streets and tulip-lined gardens. I didn’t intend to make any new friends. But when the pastor’s wife saves me from an accident, I can’t help but fall into her orbit.

Soon enough, I become a regular at church, and the pastor and his wife welcome me into their home with open arms. But the more time I spend with them, the more I begin to feel something isn’t right. It’s not just that Mary looks uncomfortable when Tim kisses her and that he controls what she eats. It’s more than that. It’s the strange black car that I’ve seen watching me each time I visit. The fact that Mary and Tim won’t talk about where they came from before they moved to this small town.

And when I creep through their house in the small hours of a late October morning to see what I can find, I discover something that sends a shiver down my spine… something that makes me wonder whether our first meeting was an accident at all.

Everyone thinks the pastor and his wife are saints. Now, I’m sure that they’re the worst kind of sinners. But they don’t know who I really am. Or what I could do with the terrible secret they want to keep safe…

This was a great book. I really loved the storyline and although it wasn't a fast-paced one but I really enjoyed this one. When I read the blurb, I was hooked and needed to read the book. I did make a mistake on Netgalley and declined it myself. Then I saw they put the audiobook on and requested again and got it. Just two days listening and finished it. Man, I love a story like this. A small-town thriller with a good story and a plot I didn't see coming. Loved the narrators. Some southern American voices.
The story is mainly about two women, Martha and Mary. They both have some hidden agenda, one some more than the other.
Also, the man in this book down have some things to hide for themselves...

If you want a good thriller with a great, didn't see it coming, plottwist, read this one...

EXCUSE MEEEE??????? Absolutely insane in the best way possible.
This had me in a chokehold from the very first chapter, I could NOT put it down. Every twist hit me like a truck, and just when I thought I was kind of catching on to what was going on … NOPE. My jaw was basically living on the floor the whole time.
The writing was brilliant, the way the tension creeps up is unreal. By the time things started raveling I was already in too deep to escape.
I was fortunate enough to receive the audiobook as an ARC through NetGalley and besides the story itself, the narrators killed it (pun intended). The way they read it just made everything feel even more intense. They really brought the story to life.

4.5/5
What. The. Heck. This was a WILD ride. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I needed to know what was going to happen next.

Thank you to Ms. Walker, the publisher, and Netgalley for the advanced listener copy!

This is my first LynDee Walker novel and it was certainly a twisty road! Just when you think the mystery has been solved, another layer is peeled back to reveal more horrors beneath perfect picket fences and "God-fearing" Whitney Falls. I think that also is what may have detracted a little from the story: going on pretty long. But with each new layer, the reader finds roots that run deeper through the whole story until the very last "reveal" at the end.

I enjoyed the narration in this one a lot. The two main characters had distinct enough voices (and narrators) that I didn't necessarily need the preface at each chapter, but it was very appreciated. The first-person POVs made it an even harder mystery to solve since the reader hears one thing from Mary and one from Martha in some instances, and as they blend together near the end, it's satisfying. No characters can be trusted, and its hard to truly <i> like</i> most of them since they're all hiding something.

This would be a really fun beach read, or summer read, so I think it's coming out at just the right time.

⭐️ Rating: 4.5/5
Okay, this one pulled me in like a Southern Baptist sermon on a hot Sunday…except way more entertaining and with fewer casseroles. 😂
As someone who grew up in a fundamentalist Baptist church (yes, I’ve got the trauma bingo card), this title had me instantly intrigued… and it did NOT disappoint.

I finished this in one sitting because I had to know what the heck was going on. So many twists and turns that I did NOT see coming! The pacing was tight, the suspense was high, and the story hit a little close to home in the best kind of unsettling way.

Stephanie Cannon and Patricia Rodriguez delivered an intense, gripping performance that made it even harder to pause (not that I even tried 😜).

If you’re into thrillers with a dash of religious intrigue and a truckload of secrets, add this one to your TBR now.
Mark your calendars for June 16 and maybe hide it from your church friends. Just sayin’.

My first ever audiobook and it did NOT disappoint!! First, a mysterious and questionable picture perfect couple? SIGN ME UP! I am huge sucker for mystery thriller books that include this trope! What blew my mind was the fact the Martha also had something to hide as well... This book read just like a true crime podcast, and the storyline felt very realistic to unfortunate events that possibly can exist in this world.
I also do wonder if the names in the book are meant to be a twist to the names in the Bible...? Since Mary and Martha are best friends in the Bible and also in this book but under very different circumstances haha!
I would advise readers and listeners to look up the trigger warnings for this book as it deals with certain topics that were hard to listen to but made the book that much more realistic!
The narrators too were EXCEPTIONAL! I absolutely love the way the expressed themselves with their voices to reflect the characters! Felt super real!
Overall, I really really enjoyed listening to this book throughout my daily life! I finished this book in less than a day! It was that good!

Thank you so much NetGalley for approving this request and thank you so much to author LynDee Walker, and narrators Stephanie Cannon, and Pat Rodriguez! Such a lovely job!

I could not put this down. This book was seriously so good. It kept me on my toes, kept me second guessing everything I thought I knew. I am so off about thrillers because I hate when I guess the plot twist but there was NOTHING about this book that I guessed. Every time I thought I knew what was happening the author proved me wrong by throwing a twist in there. The narrator did talk a little slow for me so I had to speed it up but that’s normal for me and other than that I thought she did a wonderful job narrating this book

Thank you Netgalley for this fantastic arc! I was hooked from the very beginning. It kept me second guessing everyone the entire time! I didn’t know who to trust & was shocked as secret after secret was revealed!

Whitney Falls is a small, god-loving town, where everyone knows something, and someone knows everything. There is more than one devil disguising themselves in this place, and it won't be the person you think.

An entertaining listen with plenty of curve-balls to keep you on your toes.

What a twisty lil book!! I really enjoyed this one from the very beginning. All the characters were giving me the creeps and I could not tell who I could trust! I really enjoyed the dual POV of this book that made you question if what you were reading was actually true or not. I enjoyed this book and binged it in a few sittings.