Hi friends. Today, I will be reviewing My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing. This was a disturbing, yet amazing read. I found it a bit similar to a book I’ve already read, but it was still interesting and unique in it’s own way.

Book: My Lovely Wife

Author: Samantha Downing

Rating: ★★★★☆

Summary: Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams, and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored.

We look like a normal couple. We’re your neighbors, the parents of your kid’s friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with.

We all have secrets to keeping a marriage alive.

Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.

Some spoilers are marked and hidden!!

Quote: “But I keep my mouth shut, because that’s what friends do. We don’t point out each other’s faults unless asked.”

*The Husband. At first, I was annoyed by the way he was narrating the story, but I eventually got used to it, and began to enjoy his POV. His true name is never mentioned, and his alias is Tobias, however, I decided to call him, The Husband. He is like any other father in his rich neighborhood, teaching golf at the local club, with a wife who is a realtor and two kids. However, his secret hobby is murder. As the story continued, I sympathized with him, and also tried to make excuses for him in my head. By the end of the book, I was rooting for him, which makes me just a tad bit worried about my mental health 😉

*Millicent. She was an interesting character who was constantly full of surprises. She also seemed to be the main brains behind the murders, and a bit controlling of her husband. But what can you expect from a serial killer? Though I didn’t like her, it was interesting to learn about her through her husband’s POV.

*Mystery and Plot. The mystery wasn’t much of a mystery, since we already knew who did it and why – well, you think you know why. I was surprised how things turned out, and couldn’t guess the ending. There was a good amount of suspense, and I was also constantly worrying that Millicent and her husband would get caught which I guess I should have been happy about, but I was still nervous. Most of the book wasn’t very fast-paced, but the end was more of a thriller.

Quote: “You didn’t think we were going to stop, did you?”

*The Husband is a bit stupid. Honestly, I don’t plan murders, and I stay on the right side of the law, yet I felt like I knew that he shouldn’t have made such a ridiculous mistake. I think it’s a bit of a spoiler, so I’m going to hide it in the drop-down.

SPOILER!! BEWARE!! Do not click the arrow unless you want to reveal the spoiler!

After Trisha (?? I think that’s her name) told him that she dated Owen, and she gave some details about his house, The Husband wrote a letter, pretending to be Owen and used pretty much the exact same words to prove that he is indeed Owen and not a copycat. I expected Trisha to notice that those exact words had been used and that that would have been The Husband’s downfall. It seemed very obvious to me that he should not have done that.

*Justice. I personally would have liked for The Bad Guy to suffer a lot more than they did at the end of the book, but I guess justice was still served in its own way.

*Similarities. After I finished reading the story, it occured to me that this book was a bit similar to another book I have read, especially with the ending twist. You can see which book in the drop down below!

SPOILER!! BEWARE!! Do not click the arrow unless you want to reveal the spoiler!

I think it was similar to Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Both wives got cheated on, and then they planned an elaborate revenge that included framing the husband for a crime they didn’t commit. However, while I liked My Lovely Wife, I didn’t like Gone Girl.

Quote: “My name is not Tobias. I use that name only when I want someone to remember me.”

Overall, I liked this, I would recommend it, and I hope you enjoy it if you read it. This was a dark and twisted thriller with an unconventional narrator and a surprising ending. For a debut thriller, I think Ms. Downing did a very good job.

One sentence summary: A twisted and surprising thriller, with an unusual narrator.

Overall, 4 stars!

★★★★☆

Have you read My Lovely Wife? What did you think? Have you read any other thriller from the point-of-view of the killer? Let’s chat in the comments below!