Review: My Lovely Wife

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I did not like the storyline of this book, yet... I simply could. Not. Put. It. Down. First chapter is short and sweet and I’m hooked. I really wasn’t going to read the book based on the premise which is that a seemingly normal suburban couple with two teenage kids get an adrenaline rush by killing women. Ick. Not my cup of tea. Here is why I didn’t put it down.

It’s not graphic. Even when other details come up, the descriptions are left to the reader to fill in the dots. Just enough detail to know but not enough detail to be completely offensive. Yet I’m disturbed that I wasn’t offended enough to put it down. That’s good writing.

The story unfolds with twists and turns. The POV is the husband. You kind of understand him and want to like him. They both have secrets. Neither are innocent yet I had to stop myself from wanting him to get away with it. I was justifying his level of guilt. They each play different parts in the crimes and THAT is the hook.

The last 50 pages or so even disturbed my plan to make chocolate chip cookies. Could. Not. Put. It. Down. I guess my summation is that the story is really not about the crimes. In fact, as disturbing as these people are, the author writes a very well written novel that focuses on events outside the crimes.

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