This is such an abused genre, that it's hard to find a domestic noir that you still remember a month after reading. This one, I do! Very dark, nasty, and thoroughly enjoyable. A cut above the usual thriller.

WOW! Julia Crouch certainly knows how to craft a tale!

We first meet Louisa when she is trying to escape from her husband Sam along with her children. She is involved in a car crash where she is the only survivor. She takes a long time to recover from her physical injuries the mental scars may take even longer.

Sophie was Sam's lover. She is pregnant and furious with Louisa who she believes has destroyed her life and now does her best to destroy Louisa's reputation.

So the goodie/baddie seems to be established, but in the flashbacks of Louisa's life with Sam things aren't so black and white!

This is a really well written story that kept me on the edge of my seat. A real five star read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this book

Without wanting to give away too much, this is a book that's full of twists and turns. Of the two main protagonists, Lou and Sophie, it's impossible to tell who's telling the truth. Julia Crouch covers such themes as regeneration of London and postnatal depression. Add to this the background of London in a heatwave and you have one fantastic book.

I have to say I’m quite blown away by this book, I’m not sure what I was expecting when I picked it up but what I got was an intense, suspenseful read that had me totally gripped.

I’ve never read anything by Julia Crouch before and now I’m asking myself why the heck not. Her Husbands Lover opens dramatically, I love when a story starts this way but sometimes you find it kind of sags in the middle but the author has done a fantastic job of keeping the readers attention right the way through the book.

The story is told by two narrators, you have the wife Louisa and the lover Sophie and the story alternates between the two in present times and the past. It’s very cleverly done and makes you want to keep on reading.

It’s actually really difficult to write a review about this book as I really don’t want to give anything away, so what I will say is that Her Husband’s Lover gave me goose bumps, it left me open mouthed, shocked and has a plot that has so many twist’s and turn’s it leaves you feeling dizzy.

I’ll definitely be highly recommending this book and I’m looking forward to catching up with the authors previous work.

This was an intriguing book, but I didn't find it gripping. It was too long and unrealistic. Quite well written and full of twists and red herrings, I can see that it will appeal to many readers. I will certInly try other books by this author.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I really loved this book, as with all Julia's books its very dark and thought-provoking. I loved the twist at the end and give it a well earned 10/10.

Edge of your seat book - thoroughly enjoyable. Fabulous ending!!!!!

Her Husband’s Lover messed with my head. Two women, Louisa and Soph are linked by tragedy when Sam, Louisa’s husband and Soph’s lover dies after a high-speed car crash. Everything points to the accident being caused by Sam trying to kill Louisa so he can start a new life with Soph. Louisa attempts to rebuild her life under an assumed identity but Soph is after revenge and financial security for her daughter.
But this is not a book where you can even begin to assume anything. The only character who I could take as face value was Adam. When there had been a few chapters concerning the past I thought I knew the real story but I was increasingly horrified as I got nearer the end. One of the more eerie things about the book were the parts that were merely hinted at. The parts where I was left thinking about what might have happened.
I found it fascinating, very unsettling and impossible to put down. I don’t think that I have read anything like it before.
Julia Crouch is one of the authors who will be participating in tonight’s First Monday Crime. For anybody who can attend I’m sure it will be a great night. The details can be found here

With thanks to the publisher for the copy received via NetGalley.

Very good story of betrayal from different points of view. Full.of suspense

4.5 stars

Oh my! What a read. Julia Crouch can now count me as one of her fans. Lou Turner is an accomplished equestrian and a Kick Ass Hotshot Designer amongst other things. Louisa Williams is a wife, mother and alcoholic. Her husband Sam is having an affair with an ex model named Sophie. After a terrible tragedy everyones lives change.
There was something about Louisa I couldn't warm up to. Her thoughts always had a double meaning depending on how you took them. Sophie you could tell was a little unhinged. I didn't know which would get the award for being the Most bad-dung-crazy! Lol. Some people should NOT be parents! I was so angry during certain parts I yelled at the characters. Sometimes I empathized with them as well. This book really had me going. In a good way of course.
I received this copy from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.

I have been unable to review this book - please see notes to publisher for comments. Thank you.

I flew through the first chapters of this book because I was instantly hooked. The protagonist Louisa has escaped her abusive husband, but in the worst possible way – loosing her two small children. As she suffers in hospital and goes to court, she slowly starts to rebuild her life, all whilst her dead husband's mistress looms threateningly close. I was gripped as to how she would lash out at Louisa to exact her revenge.
Unfortunately, when I reached about a quarter of the way through the book, things definitely slowed down for me. The plot meandered along and I began to lose interest. The narrative switched between past and present, and between Louisa and Sophie (the mistress). I found that Louisa's past narrative held my interest the most and kept me reading. On the whole, I'm glad that I did keep reading because it definitely picked up for the last quarter of the story. As a showdown between Louisa and Sophie loomed, the tension definitely increased and you had no idea what the crazy woman would do next.
Perhaps it would have been better if I'd read this book by a pool on holiday, where a leisurely middle section wouldn't have bothered me. But that being said, the ending was worth waiting for.

This is quite the thriller - I can't say I liked any of the characters and wow there were some evil evil thoughts in one person's mind. Domestic Noir just got very very dark indeed.
The novel is plotted and paced in such a way that I was racing along with Louisa in particular as I knew she knew a lot more than she let on and I wanted to be there when it all came out. There's a dead first wife, a lover, a dead husband, a wife who has survived the accident which killed him....that pace pulls you like an elastic band and you never know when it's going to ping.

It was quite aptly a car crash of a read - awful things happen but I had to watch and see what was going on. It just left me feeling a bit empty at the end. A thriller that many people will love though as the plot twists and pacing really is quite something.

This review is written with thanks to Headline and Netgalley for my copy of Her Husband's Lover.
Louisa's husband, Sam, has died in a car crash, as have their children, Poppy and Leon. Louisa wants to make a fresh start, but her husband had a mistress, Sophie. Sophie believes that Sam wanted to leave Louisa, and the new life Louisa is creating for herself should be hers. She is determined to sabotage Louisa's life. Will she succeed?
Her Husband's Lover begins with a very graphic description of the car crash in which Sam, Poppy and Leon are killed. From this point onwards, I knew I was in for a gripping ride. As Crouch's writing shifts between the past and the present, I was hooked as I waited to discover the events that had led Louisa to this point. The tension never falters and I was engaged until the very end.
In Louisa and Sophie, Crouch has created two very complex central characters. Both characters have clear mental health issues, and I felt that Crouch's exploration of these was very believable. Although it means that neither Louisa nor Sophie are very likeable, it means that they are compelling and I wanted to find out more about their histories and what made them tick.
In previous reviews, I have made no secret of the fact that I love a novel with a twist. The twist in The Husband's Lover is in part predictable, but it did leave me questioning what had happened throughout the whole novel. The ending raises a few questions, and this means it will stay with me in days to come.

Loved this book, it had me on the edge of my seat at times. So many twists and turns and an ending I wasn't prepared for.

It flits from past and present but does it really well, a very well written book. I cannot wait to read more from this author.

5 full stars from me and highly recommended if you love psychological thrillers.

Buckle up for the ride of your life . This book has more twists and turns than a roller coaster, leaving you feeling very much upside down in places .. Be prepared to be thrilled!! Well done Julia easy 5 stars

Wow, wow & wow! Absolutely loved this. Real edge of your seat stuff, totally gripping. Excellent psychological thriller. Loaded with twists & turns. Just wish I hadn't finished it, you've go it all to look forward to .
One to recommend. My thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it. I particularly enjoyed the way that the characters developed and it was difficult to tell who the bad guys were. I could never see where the book was heading and was not disappointed. I found it confusing at times to jump between the here and then but it didn't spoil the read. Many thanks

The two main characters in this chilling and twisted psychological thriller are Louisa and Sophie. Louisa is the mother of two small children and is married to successful businessman Sam. They live in a luxurious house set in an idyllic countryside location and are very wealthy. Sam’s mistress is Sophie and she is pregnant with Sam’s daughter. Sam wants Louisa to move into the flat he has bought for Sophie in Cambridge, leaving her children behind, while he and Sophie live in the family house, but Louisa is having none of it. She is enraged and desperate as she takes off with her two young children strapped into their car seats. Sam tracks them down and chases them in his powerful car, forcing them off the road and eventually crashing, both cars exploding in a ball of fire in which Sam is killed. Louisa endures almost two years of hospitalisation, counselling and rehabilitation, leaving her weakened, scarred and with a pronounced limp. She plans a totally new life, using her inheritance to finance her ‘new beginning’.
Meanwhile demented with grief, Sophie’s attempt to kill Louisa in hospital by removing her tubes in hospital is thwarted when she is discovered by an attendant tampering with the equipment. She gives birth to her child and calls her Sami, in memory of her father. She is determined to claim what she considers is rightfully hers, but especially Sami’s birthright, her legacy from her father. She tracks down Louisa in her place of work and is determined to win her case. Louisa had agreed for her to keep the flat in Cambridge until her daughter was six months old. That time has arrived and Louisa wants to sell the flat, already having sold her marital home. Sophie will be out on the streets when she is evicted and is desperately hoping Louisa will reconsider. She is carrying out her own investigations to prove that Louisa has spun a web of lies about Sam and his bullish and abusive behaviour. She believes in her heart that Sam would never behave dishonourably. But Louisa is equally determined to hold firm and will not budge an inch. The battleground is established and both women are determined to win come what may. Sophie is driven, enraged and is threatening to use whatever she can to reach a settlement. But Louisa is equally determined that she will not give way. She hates Sophie with a passion and will do whatever it takes to drive her away.
‘Her Husband’s Secret’ is the story of two embittered women who will stop at nothing to get what they want. It is full of twists and turns, thrills and spills and the ending is totally unexpected and very disturbing. The characters are well drawn and developed with skill and patience. But one of them is telling lies and doing everything they can to cover their tracks. I disliked both of them equally and I knew one of them was an unreliable narrator, but which one? Julia Crouch hides secrets, distorts facts and uses many other disguises and devices to point her finger first to one and then to the other of these determined and murderous characters, racking up the drama and tension in this classy and fast-paced novel. I really enjoyed reading it and would like to thank NetGalley and publisher Headline for sending me my copy of the novel in return for an honest review. It’s a 9/10 from me and a recommendation that you will soon be absorbed by this novel and wondering what has hit you by the time of its conclusion.