Author: Kimberly Belle
Narrator: Vivienne Leheny, Chris Andrew Ciulla, Pete Simonelli
Publisher: Harlequin – Trade Publishing
Publication Date: June 2019
Genre: Thriller
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN | Audible
Description: From the bestselling author of The Marriage Lie comes a riveting new novel of suspense about a woman who must decide just how far she’ll go to escape the person she once loved.
Beth Murphy is on the run…
For nearly a year, Beth has been planning for her escape. She's thought through everything -- a new look, new name and new city -- because one small slip and her husband will find her.
Sabine Hardison is missing…
A couple hundred miles away, Jeffrey returns home from a work trip to find his wife, Sabine, is missing. Wherever she is, she’s taken almost nothing with her. Her abandoned car is the only evidence the police have, and all signs point to foul play.
As the police search for leads, the case becomes more and more convoluted. Sabine’s carefully laid plans for her future indicate trouble at home, and a husband who would be better off with her gone. But are things really as clear cut as they seem? Where is Sabine? And who is Beth? The only thing that’s certain is that someone is lying and the truth won’t stay buried for long.
My Thoughts: I absolutely adored this twisty thriller, which unfolds through multiple points of view and carefully layered plotlines. One storyline follows Beth, a woman on the run from her abusive husband. The other centers on Sabine, a woman who has vanished under suspicious circumstances. At first, the connection between the two is unclear, leaving the reader to wonder whether Beth and Sabine might somehow be the same woman.
The story is told through the perspectives of Beth, Sabine’s husband Jeffrey, and Marcus, the police detective assigned to Sabine’s case. This shifting structure keeps the tension high while gradually revealing how each character fits into the larger mystery.
Beth’s chapters offer a compelling look at the planning and caution required to escape an abusive relationship. Every detail of her flight feels deliberate, from preparing a new identity to taking steps to stay hidden once she is on the run. I had a strong sense of her fear: the feeling that her husband might be close behind, and that one wrong move could put her in danger again.
Sabine’s storyline brings a different kind of suspense. She is presented as a woman trapped in an unhappy marriage, having an affair, and possibly pregnant. Jeffrey, her husband, quickly becomes a suspect in her disappearance, and his behavior makes him seem increasingly suspicious as the investigation unfolds.
When the two plotlines finally converge, the reveal left me shocked and breathless. The story exposes just how far Beth’s husband is willing to go to protect his image and punish his wife. Although the book moves at a very fast pace, I was able to keep up with every twist, and the final 20% was especially gripping as Beth is forced into the confrontation the story has been building toward.
My Final Verdict: Dear Wife is a fast-paced, suspenseful thriller filled with tension, misdirection, and shocking reveals. I loved the way the multiple perspectives kept me guessing, and the final stretch delivered the kind of gripping payoff I hope for in a twisty domestic thriller. Readers who enjoy stories about secrets, survival, and carefully constructed deception will want to add this one to their list.
Thank you to the publisher, Harlequin – Trade Publishing, who provided an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley.
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