The Good Bad Wife

by A.J. Wills

The only way to save her best friend’s unborn baby… is murder After months of abuse, Erin finally escapes her violent husband and disappears with nothing but a new name, a bag of cash and a second-hand car.

She rents a basement flat from a couple in the house upstairs, safe for now from the monster she married. And while Jeremy is cold and keeps his distance, his wife Vanessa is spirited and vivacious, welcoming Erin into a world of coffee dates, wine bars and long, liquid lunches.

But late one night, Erin hears sounds she knows all too well coming from above.

Raised voices. Smashing glass. Doors slamming.

The bruises on Vanessa’s arm tell Erin everything she needs to know.

Vanessa, a few weeks pregnant, admits the abuse has been going on for years – but is too scared to walk away.

She has a better idea. To protect her unborn baby, she wants Jeremy dead – and needs Erin’s help.

But is Erin willing to commit murder for a friend she hardly knows? And risk the freedom she’s fought so hard to win?

The Good Bad Wife is the compulsive new psychological thriller from the Kindle #1 bestselling author of His Wife's Sister.

Genres: Thriller

357 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 2, 2026

About the author

***Book bloggers join my ARC team and never miss getting your hands on a review copy of my latest books. You can sign up here: bit.ly/bloggersalert ***

AJ Wills writes standalone psychological thrillers with twisty plots.

He’s a former journalist who wrote in his spare time, before and after work for ten years, until he was finally able to fulfil his lifelong dream of becoming a fulltime author in May 2021.

He’s never looked back and now runs a small independent publishing company, Cherry Tree Publishing with his wife, AJ McDine, also a thriller writer.

He said: “I've always loved thrillers, but psychological thrillers hold a special interest for me because they're about the scary, insane, disturbing things that happen to ordinary people - and we can all relate to them on some level.”

He lives in Kent in the south east of England.

You can download AJ Wills’s psychological thriller, His Lost Wife, for free by visiting bit.ly/hislostwife

You can find out more about him on his website: ajwillsauthor.com, his Facebook page AuthorAJWills or on his Instagram account ajwills_author

Of course, you can always contact him directly at adrian@ajwillsauthor.com, where he loves to answer messages from genuine readers.

And don't forget to follow him on BookBub for his new releases: bit.ly/BookBubAJWills

Reviews

[chantalsbookstuff]

I really enjoyed this book and flew through it because I always wanted to know what was going to happen next. The story follows a woman who escapes her abusive husband and starts over with a new identity, hoping for a fresh start. But when she becomes close to another woman who claims to be trapped in an abusive marriage too, things quickly become much more complicated than they first seem. There were plenty of twists, short chapters, and enough suspense to keep me turning the pages. I would definitely recommend checking the trigger warnings before picking this one up, as it deals with domestic abuse and coercive control throughout the story.

A.J. Wills is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine because his books always manage to keep me hooked from beginning to end. I liked how this story showed that things aren't always what they seem and kept me guessing about who could really be trusted. The court scenes added another layer of mystery, and I enjoyed trying to figure everything out before the truth was revealed. Overall, this was an engaging and emotional thriller with strong suspense, and I can't wait to read more from this author.

[Jayne]

➡️ The GOOD and the BAD
of this "GOOD BAD" book.

➡️ THE GOOD:
- Engaging & Fast-Paced:
Exceptionally well-written with a swift, propulsive pace.

- Complex Protagonists:
Compelling, unpredictable, and deeply unreliable narrators.

- Fresh Perspective:
Offers a unique spin on the domestic abuse thriller subgenre.

- Unputdownable:
Kept me hooked, culminating in a wild end-of-book twist.

➡️ THE BAD:
- Heavy Themes:
Relentless focus on domestic abuse—the sheer volume of it felt overwhelming at times.

I am usually not a fan of domestic abuse thrillers.

➡️ I listened to the audiobook, expertly narrated by Jessica Preddy.
Given the intricate narrative, it was a challenging book to narrate, and Preddy's performance was brilliant.

[Carrie Shields]

...𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧? 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞...𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞. 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞.

Erin has finally escaped her abusive husband and is trying to disappear into a quiet new life when she becomes friends with Vanessa, the pregnant woman living upstairs. Then Erin realizes Vanessa is being abused too, and Vanessa has a solution: Jeremy needs to die. Now Erin has to decide whether helping a woman she barely knows commit murder is worth risking the freedom she fought so hard to get. THIS BOOK. 😂 I spent so much of it thinking, "Ma'am. WHAT in tarnation are we doing?" and yet I could not stop reading.

Yes, there are moments in this book where I had to suspend disbelief so far I was basically dangling from the ceiling. But never once was I rolling my eyes, thrashing around, or sighing dramatically at the plot. Not once. I was having an absolute BLAST. This was exactly the kind of chaotic, completely bananas escape I needed, and I willingly climbed aboard the crazy train and stayed there. I was tapping on my Kindle like my life depended on it, fully invested in every terrible decision and every increasingly unhinged development. Sometimes I want literary precision. Sometimes I want a story to grab me by the face and yell, "Buckle up, b*tch!" This was very much the latter.

I also appreciated that the darker elements involving domestic abuse were handled with purpose. Some of the scenes and descriptions may feel graphic, but they never felt gratuitous to me. They made the fear, control, and desperation feel frighteningly real without turning the abuse into spectacle. And then the book takes all of that darkness and launches it directly into thriller territory. I cannot tell you how many times I thought I knew where this was going, only to realize I was apparently the only person in the room who hadn't received the memo. Five stars for sheer entertainment value, because sometimes the best reading experience is the one that makes you forget you have responsibilities. This one had me absolutely feral. This book is available now in print and on KU!

[Keller (Author Charles Hack) Hackbusch]

Book: The Good Bad Wife
Author: AJ Wills

Rating: 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: 📖 (kindle)
Genre: Domestic Suspense Thriller 🔪
Series?: No
Story Pacing: 🏎️
Language: 🤬 yes, medium amount
Spice: 0️⃣ none
Content Warnings: ⚠️ violence, torture, murder, stalking, kidnapping, profanity
Will I continue with this author or series: Yes ✅

Comments: This is now my third AJ Wills psychological thriller, and I’m convinced he needs more exposure. AJ Wills is writing really good, page turning thrillers. If you love the genre, you’ve got to give AJ Wills a chance. His books keep getting better. I read this quickly and was eager to know what happened next. There were several really uncomfortable moments! The book doesn’t feature big twists, but more like big betrayals and big developments that increase the intensity. I was satisfied with the ending and the book as a whole. I’ll will continue to read AJ Wills work!

[LF08]

If I could give this book 0 stars, I would. I’m sorry but this book was not good at all. I hate the “I risked my life and everything to leave this really abusive relationship only for me to get into another abusive relationship where I ignore all the red flags and grow super close to someone within one week” trope! Not to say that there isn’t a pattern sometimes, but like this?! Erin literally did the exact same thing and never once checked in with herself or questioned it …even after noticing red flags? Plots like this upset me and inadvertently paints victims as “weak” and “stupid”, and I don’t like that.

[Vicky Chapman]

Gripping from start to finish, I found this one hard to put down - the characters got under my skin. Fantastic read.
Huge thanks for having me on the arc team.

[Chloe Tipping]

4.5 ⭐
SUCH an easy read, hooked right from the beginning 👏🏻. Didn’t want to put this one down.

[Joy]

Abuse can go both ways, bravo for bringing it to the readers attention.

[sharon moore]

A.j wills is such a good writer, I’ve read everything he has written and never been disappointed. This is full of twists and turns. Friends are around for the evening with Xander who is a policeman and his wife Ruby. They rung out of wine, Ruby has forgotten it. She instantly offers to go to the shop to get more. She’s prepared deliberately to do this as her husband isn’t who you think he is. He’s a control freak. She’s goes out and has things buried she’s well prepared or is she? He tracks her phone. He keeps her under a tight rein. He comes after her and vows never to give up on her. She manages to get herself an apartment in a different town,the landlords wife and Ruby become firm friends. But all isn’t as it seems and more domestic violence is happening with her landlords. What a mess. 5 stars from me.

[June]

If you like a good psychological thriller, you can't go wrong with this one. Even if it's not your usual read, try it. It's an absolutely brilliant, well written gripping, page-turner, edge of seat read.
It kept me guessing with its revelations, twists, and turns, and no way would I have guessed write. Especially with the authors clever twist conclusion, which left me gob smacked.
There are strong characters you can relate to, and I found myself wanting to shake and shout at the main character.
This captures you from beginning to end and woe betide any interruptions.
All in all, it is a thoroughly enjoyable book, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to others.
Although I had this on pre-order, I would like to thank the author for the advanced copy.
This is my honest and unbiased review of this book.

[Phyllis Fried]

What a great story this is. I was invested from the beginning to the surprising end. Lots of twists and turns and a chance to play detective. No-one is who you think they are. The short chapters kept me reading late into the night. I finished it in two days because of the suspense. Who are these people? One is the wife of a policeman and the other is a carefree wife of a businessman. Or are they?
Interspersed in between are court proceedings and it doesn't tell you who is on trial until you read further. You will be shocked as I was the more you read. Excellently written and thought out story.
I would highly recommend this book and here's a shout-out to A J Wills for the ARC of this compelling book.

[Christine Rennie]

The Good Bad Wife by AJ Wills

The Good Bad Wife by A J Wills is a story of being in an abusive relationship and the victim can be female or male.Erin has finally escaped from her abusive and controlling husband, who is also a serving police officer.
She finds a basement flat to rent and makes friends with Vanessa, she is the wife of the owners of the house. Her husband is distant and has little to do with Erin.
Vanessa tells Erin she is also in an abusive relationship and needs Erin to kill her husband for her.
Erin believes everything that Vanessa tells her,until one day she realises Vanessa lies and this has severe consequences for Erin.
An entertaining story.
Highly recommended

[Lynda]

Ruby is married to Xander and lives in London. Life should be wonderful but Xander, who is a police detective, is also a wife beater. Ruby decides to take matters into her own hands and runs away. We discover early on that Ruby is in Court on a murder charge but who has she murdered and why?

Briefly, after running away Ruby changes her name to Erin, dreading Xander will find her. She meets Vanessa, a kind woman, who agrees to take her on as a tenant in her basement flat and Erin feels that she has finally landed on her feet. And where Vanessa is welcoming, Jeremy, Vanessa’s husband, is not and Erin finds herself in an impossible situation.

This is a fast paced and tense read and will keep you on the edge of your seat. With twists galore I couldn’t put it down and read it in one sitting. Entertaining book.

[Kathy]

The story starts with Erin finding the courage to run away from her abusive husband, Xander. She runs to a new town where she doesn’t know anyone. She rents a basement apartment and becomes fast friends with her landlord, Vanessa. Eris hears fighting in the apartment above her where Vanessa and Jeremey live. She confronts Vanessa who confirms her husband is also abusive. There were some red flags with Vanessa, but Erin didn’t see them. Vanessa’s solution to her problem is that Jeremy needs to die. Not that Vanessa could do it, but she somehow talks Erin into doing it – making it look like a car accident. Some of this is very graphic detailing the abuse Erin suffered. Some of it is pretty unbelievable. I still liked the story, kept my interest and really liked the end.

[Yvonne]

Sometimes I feel guilty reading a book so quickly when the author has spent time researching and writing the story, but this was a book I couldn’t put down until I found out what had happened by the end. This is a twisting, turning, tense read. It has short chapters that made want to read ‘just one more’ as I fell into the world of characters who I thought I knew, but who could I actually trust? There’s a court case taking place between the chapters and I wasn’t sure who the guilty person was! I devoured this story in two sittings and I loved it.

Thanks to AJ Wills for sending me the arc of his latest book, due for release on Tuesday.

[Ritta Kloss]

Adrian…wow! My heart was in my throat during the entire time I was reading this book! Although you’ve stepped away from the psycho thriller genre, you've captured the domestic violence and abuse topic, with ease.
You’ve absolutely set in motion a trail blazing experience that will most likely lead you in to a whole new genre! Not saying you should stop writing the thrillers tho!
There’s just enough to keep everyone’s attention and not enough to scare them away, even if they have triggers to DV.
Amazingly written! Great work!

[Anna]

What worked best for me was the way the book played with perception and trust. A J Wills puts us right inside the head of a narrator who has every reason to see danger in the wrong places and I believed her completely, which made me question some of my own quick judgements about people.
The book deals with abuse honestly and doesn't soften the hard parts, but it also asks who we choose to believe and why. Some scenes were difficult to read, as they should be. The ending left me with hope rather than just shock, and I liked that very much.

[Miranda Rijks]

Wow – this was one heart-stopping, page-turning read! It’s the story of two wives and two husbands and abusive, coercive control in relationships. When one woman escapes the clutches of her evil husband (who happens to be a police officer) she finds herself living in the home of another couple also in a toxic marriage. This an original, compelling story with complex characters and I raced through the book. Highly recommend!

[Leanne]

A disturbing read of domestic violence and it has been captured seamlessly. I experienced goosebumps while reading and I loved the heart pounding anticipation. I think the author has taken their writing to another level. I didn't want to turn away from reading until I finished the book. It held on to my attention and had me preparing to run at the same time.

[Paige Alexander Alexander]

I couldn't finish this book. I just couldn't get into the storyline, and overall, it didn't appeal to me.

The characters weren't particularly likeable, and I found the writing style quite juvenile, which made it difficult to become invested in the story.

I can't really recommend it based on what I read, although it may appeal to other readers. Unfortunately, it just wasn't for me.

[Dina]

The Good Bad Wife by A.J. Wills was a story I really loved, especially the premise of Erin helping Vanessa escape her abusive husband. But why do authors make the middle drag so much? It felt like the story was being stretched just to fill pages, and I started losing interest. I really wish it had been shorter and faster-paced.

[Kenneth Lingenfelter]

A woman escapes her abusive husband and gets an apartment below the owners home. She gets tricked into trying to commit murder. There are a number of twists in this page turning thriller. I read it in one sitting since I could not put it down.

[Stephanie Plant]

We are reading this book in a Tarot group. We read halfway through and then we meet and pull cards on how the story ends and how close we were. This book was an easy read action packed. You think one thing but you know it’s gonna be something different. I like that in this book.

[Victoria]

I found this to be a quick, easy read. I enjoyed the characters and really enjoyed the pacing of this book. However, I predicted what was actually going on at about 25%, but that didn’t ruin it for me- I still wanted to see how it was all going to play out.

[Faye Ranger]

The good wife and wife

Gosh I couldn't put this book down. I was married to a control freak. Who beat me and my children. Those days the police didn't interfere. It made such interesting reading. I bet it took a lot of research on your part. Well done Adrain

[Eleanor Andersen]

I couldn’t put this book down. A story that’s happening daily, that we don’t know about, to people everywhere. Well worth a read.

[Mrs Judith Taylor]

Brilliant book

It was twist and turns all through with the ending a complete surprise!
Think this is the best book yet from Adrian can't wait for his next one.

[Karen]

wife

Took me little longer than usual as I was bored at times but not a bad read at all. Great writer enjoy this writer and books! Would recommend

[valerie gosling]

Read it

A really well written book interesting plot wonderful characters that keep you turning the pages to find out what happens next thoroughly enjoyed reading this book

[Miss Lorraine Draper]

Five stars plus.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved most of the characters and it was a real page turner. I would highly recommend this book.