The Cheater's Wife: An Addictive Twisty Psychological Thriller

by C.N. Mabry

She turned her husband’s betrayal into a second chance. Now, it might cost her everything.

Camille Bell never wanted to raise her husband’s mistake. RJ, the son of Ryan’s most public betrayal, was a constant reminder of everything she lost—the picture-perfect life, the adoring husband, the future she was promised. But instead of casting him aside, she did what no one expected. She made him hers.

RJ grew into everything Camille wanted in a son—strong, ambitious, successful. Unlike her own child, Gideon, who always seemed to fall short.

Then a girl is murdered at a high school party. And all signs point to RJ.

Camille knows what happens to jocks accused of crimes. The media frenzy. The courtroom battles. The public trial before the real one even begins. She knows the justice system won’t wait for the truth. So, she does what she swore she’d never do—she protects him.

But the deeper she digs, the more she realizes RJ isn’t the only one with secrets. Someone in her house is a killer.

And the closer she gets to the truth, the more she starts to wonder—has she been raising a monster?

You’ll gasp. You’ll question everything. Then you’ll go back and read it again.
A shocking, fast-paced psychological thriller packed with twists you won’t see coming.
Perfect for fans of Freida McFadden, Kiersten Modglin, and B.A. Paris.

Genres: Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Fiction, Mystery, Audiobook, African American

352 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 23, 2025

Reviews

[Nina (ninjasbooks)]

In most psychological thrillers, I look for suspense. This one was different in that it conjured different emotions than excitement and waiting for more. Here I felt the tragedy, the sadness oozing after every revelation. The characters emotions were mine, and I felt real grief when something bad happened. I will probably need something very uplifting next to shake off the dark emotions, but I will not forget this one. Brilliantly done.

[April]

Camille Camille Camille.. I mean geesh, talking about loosing yourself in loving a man!! This was definitely the morale of the story. If anyone says this book was predictable, they are not being truthful lol. This book completely blew my mind & had an ending that made me simply say “WOW”… Alternating between past & present, with dual POVs of Ryan & Camille, some of their skeletons will leave you speechless. I could not keep up with the amount of lies and deception between this family of 5.

Camille & Ryan are college sweethearts, that have it all. Ryan is a pro athlete, they have 3 children, nice home & anything wanted at their disposal. When an illness causes Ryan take a fall from glory, & their finances change, Camille has to step up. As secrets are revealed, this family is challenged in ways they could never imagine.

Excellent read & Highly recommend.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Donna Mallery]

This is a new author for me, but it also appears that she is new to writing psychological thrillers. Be forewarned: this is a dark, dark story. We go through two different timelines to help us navigate how things turned so wrong. It’s about how relationships can be incredibly toxic. And history does repeat itself. This author is a skilled writer, and I was quickly invested and immersed in this book. I felt the depression, horror, anguish and all other tragic emotions. Not for the faint of heart!

[Laura Smith]

I enjoyed this book.
Im giving it a 4.
very good twists that I didn't see coming at all.

[Kim Dzbenski]

The twist on the ending 🤯 I did not see that coming.
Addictive page turner!

[Josefine Michaelsen]

ARC review: All I can say is WOW!! I loved every second of this book and now that it’s done I want mooooore. If I could give it 10 stars I would. The twists were so unpredictable that I audible gasped multiple times. I think this may be my new favorite book!
Thank you so much to the author for gifting me this masterpiece of a book, definitely my favorite read of the year so far!

[Jennifer Bendel]

I received an arc of this book and it was absolutely amazing. The true definition of a psychological thriller. The twists and turns were unbelievable. I hated the characters, then liked them, then hated them. I didn’t know what to think. I absolutely will be reading this author again.

[Anna]

The unreliable characters, the twists, and the secrets kept oozing out. The last 10% felt like it took us to the racetrack! The audio was fantastic!

Dual POV between Camille and her husband Ryan to peel back years of resentment and secrets.

Years ago, Ryan Bell had a very public, humiliating affair. The affair resulted in a child named RJ. Rather than letting the scandal break her family or casting the child aside, Camille made the ultimate power move: she stepped in and legally raised RJ as her own.

Dual-narration performance by voice actors Ruffin Prentiss and Machelle Williams. The audio switches between the two narrators to match the book's shifting timeline, utilizing distinct voices for the past (the affair) and the present (the murder investigation).
Duration: ~ 10 hours

[Samyra Alexander]

Home is where the heart is

Wow! This book had my emotions all over the place. With the turn of each page my suspicions grew of more than one character. Once darkness was revealed, more revelations kept dropping. I highly recommend this to lovers of psychological and domestic thrillers. The plot twists didn’t disappoint. I didn’t care for the F.M.C., yet that didn’t take away from the story.

[Pheadra]

This is an excellent psychological thriller, but sadly also very disturbing.
It raises so many questions:
Can damaged people be repaired?
Does a woman betrayed ever truly forgive a cheating spouse?
Are siblings truly loved equally?
Camille gives up her life for super sports star Ryan. She's the only one there supporting him consistently from his abusive mother, with his physical pain, doing assignments on his behalf for college and taking care of issues as they arise all in the hope for a payday when she'll no longer have to worry and scrape.
The problem is what we expect and what is realized rarely match particularly when Ryan is a cheater.
4 stars

[Rebecca Cecil]

Ok a little add

I liked the book. One thing I did not like it the Then Camiile, Now Camille,Then Ryan, Now Ryan. Kinda of a crazy wild ride. Buckle up buttercup you are about to have
a great adventure.
Psychotic tendencies . What would you do if your spouse cheated in you over and over again. You have been embarrassed, talked about, made a fool out of by national headlines. Then all the sudden the wheels turn your spouse is no longer capable to tend to himself? Is it revenge time?
A lot of stuff going on in this book as Camille has to be the one to hold the family together.
Some twist and turns. Some craziness

[Brittany W.]

First: this book should’ve been titled something else.

Second: way too repetitive. Things were constantly being repeated.

Third: all of the “then” chapters could’ve been removed and you’d still come to the same conclusion.

Lastly, way too long and drawn out. All of the twist were so underwhelming with all of the unnecessary information you’re forced to digest to then package it up and end it in a rush. 🙄

[Keeping.Volumes.Harris]

This story is totally wild! 🤯 I definitely felt some anger, and it really made me experience all the emotions. This book did an amazing job of pulling me in! I was so surprised by the ending—it really took me by surprise. Great job to the author!

[Bev]

I can usually figure out the 'who dun-it' in mysteries, but this one had me baffled. What a life to lead, only to have your family torn apart and blamed by someone you never asked for anything. Great story!

[rebecca winners]

This book keeps you on your toes! Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, hmm maybe you do and maybe you don’t!

A definite read for anyone who loves an on edge psychological thriller.

[Crystal (Melanatedreader) Forte']

Camille is nuts and a lot of the shit the folks went through could have been avoided if she just left when that first red flag was present. I liked the flipping from present to past moments used in the timeline of the book and that’s what kept me going and holding on until the end. The twist was interesting enough but the pacing was slow and this made a lot of the storyline lackluster because of some of the repetitive actions throughout the book.

[Nicole]

4.25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ .25 stars!! Thank you to the author for this ARC. Camille and Ryan have known each other since they were children, went to college together, got married and had children. Ryan was a football player, and Camille was his supportive wife.

Sounds like the perfect life, right? Not in their case. Camille has been through a lot with Ryan, but she has had his back through all of the ups and downs, and nobody will separate them, according to Camille.

This story has so many twists and I enjoyed all of it! Everyone is a suspect, and they all have issues. This story is told in dual timelines and had me guessing until the end! If you like a fast-paced psychological thriller with some family drama, add this to your tbr!

[Bo.reads]

If "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" and "fuck around and find out" had a baby, it would be this book for sure.

The prologue instantly drew me in, wide eyed, wondering what I was about to get myself into. Literally from the first sentence, I knew I needed to buckle in for this one, and sure enough, this was one hell of a wild ride. This story was boiling with tension, it was messy, twisty, and felt like watching a train about to wreck, and yet you just couldn't look away. I enjoyed the structure and past and present timelines, and thought the story was engaging and unputdownable.

Camille was diabolical, relentless, unforgiving. I genuinely felt anxiety during her 'Now' chapters, and was always afraid of what she might do next. While I did find her genuinely frightening, she was also fascinating at times, and her character made this story the page-turner that it was. I liked that the author did well to show with Camille's character, that there are consequences to revolving your entire life and self around someone else, and the ripple effect it can have on everyone's lives. After everything you learn about Camille and Ryan's relationship, I liked that the author had me questioning who to sympathise with or not, and what actions are justified or overboard.

My only minor issue is there were parts of the story that were repeated often, and while I understand it was probably meant for emphasis and to build tension, the repeated information lost its impact after a while. Some twists were predictable, others will smack you over the head, leaving you in shock. One in particular was really shocking, which was great, but it also left me feeling a bit icky, unfortunately.

This is really a story about how relationships change, turn toxic, and how pain can fester and turn into retribution. All in all, a good story that has a place in my memorable list and I would recommend it, however do check the trigger warnings.

(Read August 2025)

[Jamie Rice]

Some spoilers here.

For a self-published book, I thought this was a well thought-out plot. It was also an easy read! Not too complex to understand. The author has some writing quirks that occur frequently throughout the story. For example, asking a question followed by an explanation:

Page 28:
And Ryan?
Ryan is sprawled across the bed…

Page 42:
Honestly? I respect it.

Page 61:
Now that he’s has a multi-million-dollar contract with the Augusta Firehawks?
Now they care.

This writing pattern occurs probably on at least every other page, if not multiple times per page.

None of the characters were particularly likable in my opinion, but I appreciate the time and effort built into revealing their backstories and motives. I feel that was what kept me coming back to read and find out more.

I was pretty thrown off by the sheer amount of disturbing activity that took place in the plot of this book, especially the incest that gets revealed at the end. Sure, they were definitely unexpected plot twists, but… not my cup of tea.

To be fair, I read this book with my book club and it was someone else’s pick, not my own. That being said, I didn’t have a personal interest in the book before reading it. These are just my thoughts as someone who ended up reading the book!

[Luke]

I’m surprised this book is so popular. None of the characters are remotely likable, and what could’ve been told in two pages is dragged out into a repetitive novel of empty internal monologue. Yes, there’s a twist, but it doesn’t come close to redeeming the nonstop, hollow rambling.

[Michelle]

This book was so good!! So many twists and turns. The last 10% were brilliant. I didn't see the twists coming at all.
Highly recommend to any thriller lovers!

[KayleeNeedsANewBook]

The Cheater’s Wife by CN Mabry
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

What do you call a domestic thriller without any real thrills, big twists, or a jaw-dropping finale?
Apparently… this book. 😅

BUT—hear me out—it still worked.

Despite the slower pacing and lack of edge-of-your-seat moments, this was an oddly compelling story about rich people making catastrophically bad choices. We're talking:
💔 a scorned wife
🔥 a vengeful mistress
🙄 a man with the decision-making skills of a sock
👶 and kids caught in the crossfire of it all

The plot didn’t spiral into chaos the way thrillers usually do—but it didn’t need to. This read more like a domestic unraveling than a thriller, with layers of lies, privilege, betrayal, and one murder that tied it all together like an expensive throw pillow nobody actually uses.

I found myself hanging on through the emotional mess, and by the end? I kinda liked it. It gave me “Desperate Housewives but with murder” energy.

Many thanks to @simonmaverickaudio and @librofm for the audio copy! 🎧

#qotd Do you prefer your thrillers with big shocking twists, or are you okay with a slow-burn mess of drama and scandal?

#TheCheatersWife #CNMabry #DomesticDrama #RichPeopleProblems #BookReview #Bookstagram #AudiobookLovers #LibroFMListener #ThrillerButMakeItMild #BooksWithDrama #ScornedWomanEnergy #BookTokRecs #AmReading #BookishThoughts #PlotTwistPlease

[Mickey]

Camille and Ryan are high school sweethearts, hoping to be together forever. Camille follows Ryan to college where he becomes the top football star with a huge career in front of him. And she's determined that she will be his wife one day, even with all the girls throwing themselves at him and Ryan's wandering eye. Eventually, they marry and Ryan makes it to the big time. They live in a huge mansion with more money than they know what to do with. But that perfect life soon comes crashing down, leaving them pretty much penniless. And now Camille is left picking up the pieces as their world crumbles around them.

This was such a wild ride. It jumps between then (when Ryan and Camille were in college) to now (with Ryan unable to look after himself and Camille left looking after their three children alone).
For a lot of the story, especially those parts showing them in college, I was a little bored, but the parts following them as they are now, was so interesting and kept me going. Ryans oldest son RJ, the result of an affair who now lives with them, is being accused of murdering his girlfriend. And it mostly follows Camille as she tries to protect her children from the police, the press and everything that happens. She struggles with the fact she believes one of her sons are responsible, just not the one being accused. And on top of that, she's dealing with caring for her husband since his stroke three years ago.
The ending was absolutely insane. At no point did I guess any of what happened.
A definite must read.

[Shaniece]

This book was not for me. This whole family was trash! There was no one like able in the whole damn book. This was an unhinged story. One thing I will say is that the twist at the end was definitely a surprise. I did not see that coming! This was a book club pick so I’m glad I finished it but I would not recommend it unless you’re into crazy ass families!

[Megan Troxell]

4 🌟 So I started this book in Feb then put it down to start another book as I just was unsure. But boyyyy am I glad I picked it up again, this is my first time reading a book by this author and I sure hope to read more. Unique, thriller/murder different and def way less predictable than I thought it would be, I loved the twists at the end! Yes pleural!!!

[Kate | Date With A Thriller]

4.5 ⭐️s rounded up to 5 ⭐️s

Oh what a twisty one this was! I honestly did not see them coming!! And the narration was very well done!! Highly recommend! 👏

Thank you to Simon Maverick Audio for the opportunity to listen to the ALC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️

[Shanay Gaiter]

This book was really good and didn’t see the end coming. I feel a part of the book didn’t make a lot of sense in the grand scheme of the whole book. Still a great book and would recommend to read it.

[Megan]

This was such a good book! I was hooked from the first line and I had a tough time putting this one down. There were some interesting twists throughout the book, but I absolutely did not guess the twist at the end. I can't wait to read more books from this author!

[Yinka Boudreaux]

What. The. Heck.
😳😳😳

[Desiree Feiss]

I absolutely loved this book! It kept me hooked from the first page! A twist at the end I never seen coming! I would recommend this to everyone! Such an amazing book!