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The Adulterer's Wife
Julie is devastated to learn that her husband, Paul, is having an affair. It seems her life can’t get any worse - until she comes home to find his dead body in their bed.
When the police establish he was murdered, Julie is the obvious suspect.
To protect her son from the terrible situation, Julie sends the teenage boy to his grandparents in Edinburgh while she fights to prove her innocence.
With all the evidence pointing to her, the only way she can escape conviction is by discovering the true identity of her husband’s killer.
But who really did murder Paul?
The truth is never straightforward…
When the police establish he was murdered, Julie is the obvious suspect.
To protect her son from the terrible situation, Julie sends the teenage boy to his grandparents in Edinburgh while she fights to prove her innocence.
With all the evidence pointing to her, the only way she can escape conviction is by discovering the true identity of her husband’s killer.
But who really did murder Paul?
The truth is never straightforward…
244 pages, Paperback
First published May 7, 2018
About the author
Leigh Russell
71 books340 followersLeigh Russell has sold over a million books in her Geraldine Steel series of crime novels. Published in English and in translation throughout Europe and in China, the Geraldine Steel titles have appeared on many bestseller lists, including #1 on kindle. Leigh's work has been nominated for several major awards, including the CWA New Blood Dagger and CWA Dagger in the Library.
Leigh has also written a trilogy featuring Lucy Hall, set in the Seychelles, Paris and Rome, and two standalone psychological thrillers.
Leigh serves on the board of the Crime Writers Association and chairs the judges for the prestigious CWA Debut Dagger Award.
She is represented by Bill Goodall.
Leigh has also written a trilogy featuring Lucy Hall, set in the Seychelles, Paris and Rome, and two standalone psychological thrillers.
Leigh serves on the board of the Crime Writers Association and chairs the judges for the prestigious CWA Debut Dagger Award.
She is represented by Bill Goodall.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews
April 1, 2020
Hmm....I don't mind suspending disbelief but this takes it to an entirely different level.
Julie has found out that her husband has been having a 2 yr affair with another woman when he accidentally leaves his phone at home when a text message comes in. The bit of the message that scrolls on the screen is enough to pique her curiosity. She goes to open the phone but he must of changed his password because it has always been her date of birth. Odd, she thinks. Within two tries she miraculously figures out his new password, easy peasy, right? *Eye roll* Because every man that is conducting an affair and that changes his password would actually use his own birth date instead? Apparently he's not a bright man.
Julie can't possibly confront him about this. Her son Dan, who suffers from cerebral palsy, is about to take his exams and she doesn't want to stress him out more than he already is. Instead, she goes out and get's completely shit faced with her friends. While under the influence she let's slip what her husband is up to. They try to convince her to leave him but those darn exams Dan has to take are far more important. So they wrap up the night, hop in a cab, and Julie makes her way to her bed in an alcohol blur.
The next morning she discovers her husband has died. In her bed. What is she to do? It appears suspicious, murder not natural causes after all, and the police consider her suspect #1.
Julie, what a terrible character you are. You find out your husband cheats on you one day, the next day you find him dead, and you haven't a care in the world. All she wants is money, money, money. Seriously! You went from happily married one day to not giving two shits because he cheated and died the next day. Whatever. She must have the emotions of a slug.
I guessed the killer because it's basically told to you in the first few chapters if you're paying attention.
Thanks to NetGalley & Bloodhound Books for providing me with a digital arc in exchange for my honest review.
Julie has found out that her husband has been having a 2 yr affair with another woman when he accidentally leaves his phone at home when a text message comes in. The bit of the message that scrolls on the screen is enough to pique her curiosity. She goes to open the phone but he must of changed his password because it has always been her date of birth. Odd, she thinks. Within two tries she miraculously figures out his new password, easy peasy, right? *Eye roll* Because every man that is conducting an affair and that changes his password would actually use his own birth date instead? Apparently he's not a bright man.
Julie can't possibly confront him about this. Her son Dan, who suffers from cerebral palsy, is about to take his exams and she doesn't want to stress him out more than he already is. Instead, she goes out and get's completely shit faced with her friends. While under the influence she let's slip what her husband is up to. They try to convince her to leave him but those darn exams Dan has to take are far more important. So they wrap up the night, hop in a cab, and Julie makes her way to her bed in an alcohol blur.
The next morning she discovers her husband has died. In her bed. What is she to do? It appears suspicious, murder not natural causes after all, and the police consider her suspect #1.
Julie, what a terrible character you are. You find out your husband cheats on you one day, the next day you find him dead, and you haven't a care in the world. All she wants is money, money, money. Seriously! You went from happily married one day to not giving two shits because he cheated and died the next day. Whatever. She must have the emotions of a slug.
I guessed the killer because it's basically told to you in the first few chapters if you're paying attention.
Thanks to NetGalley & Bloodhound Books for providing me with a digital arc in exchange for my honest review.
April 4, 2018
Julie is shocked to learn that her husband Paul is having an affair. She decides not to confront her husband until after her son has finished his exams. Then she finds Paul dead in bed. The police are now investigating her of murdering Paul and Julie will do anything to prove her innocence.
The Adulterer's Wife by Leigh Russell was a thriller about secrets and lies, with a few twists and turns to keep you guessing until the end. I am looking forward to reading more from this author
I would like to thank NetGalley and Bloodhound Books for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Adulterer's Wife by Leigh Russell was a thriller about secrets and lies, with a few twists and turns to keep you guessing until the end. I am looking forward to reading more from this author
I would like to thank NetGalley and Bloodhound Books for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
April 9, 2018
I was extremely excited to read something different from Leigh Russell with her foray into the world of the psychological thriller. My recommendation is that she sticks with the crime genre because this ‘thriller’ was as dull as dishwater. It’s unfortunate because it actually starts off incredibly well and has an exciting premise, however it all went downhill after Julie discovers her adulterous husband dead in the marital bed.
My main issue with this story is there’s one scene in the book that makes it glaringly obvious who the killer is, and this scene takes place before Julie has even discovered her husband’s body. I was reading the story hoping that Leigh Russell would pull some unseen twist out of the bag, but no, the killer in this tale couldn’t be more obvious and it was such a letdown for a story that had real potential. Seasoned readers of this genre will also work out the killer from this scene (and if you don’t then you’ll at least end up being half right).
I found it hard to empathise with Julie and never really liked her much as a character. Yes her husband cheated on her and yes their marriage was in trouble, but there’s just such a lack of emotion there when she discovers his body that she doesn’t even grieve for the marriage and what it once stood for. Instead we are expected to believe that she is happy about it. She can’t have one item of her husband’s in their home however she is happy to keep living in said home and makes frequent mentions of how she will be an extremely wealthy widow once she’s cleared of his murder (I think her upcoming wealth was mentioned about five times in as many pages). Her morals clearly don’t stretch as far as giving up the home and life that her husband bankrolled. She becomes almost unstable and the story nearly got a little exciting when she went off on the run, only to then be apprehended by the police, having to then resort to proving her innocence with the help of a cliched cardboard cut out private detective. Considering Leigh Russell has written so many crime novels, the policing element here was shocking. Okay Julie was determined to prove her innocence but the police do nothing in this story other than suspect her. The lengths Julie goes to in order to prove her innocence were clearly signs of a desperate woman, however the case against her by the police would never be strong enough to convince a jury and so that desperation felt forced because it wasn’t completely necessary.
Her son Dan was somebody who had potential but was wasted as a character. One minute he hates his supposed murderous mum, the next he wants to be with her. Rinse and repeat this until the denouement. The rest of the characters I can’t even talk about because one of them is of course the killer who as said earlier was as clear as day. There’s just nothing here to get excited about.
I suppose the best way to describe The Adulterer’s Wife is a story of missed opportunities. I hate reading a story where I have worked out the plot before it’s even begun but at least here that was a sign of incredibly poor plotting. The Adulterer’s Wife reads like a debut novel from an aspiring thriller writer, not the work of a veteran of the crime genre and so I cannot recommend this book to anybody who wants an exciting, gripping, thrilling and character-driven drama because this story contains none of those things. Someone please recommend me an amazing psychological thriller because the ones I’ve been reading recently are not doing it for me.
My main issue with this story is there’s one scene in the book that makes it glaringly obvious who the killer is, and this scene takes place before Julie has even discovered her husband’s body. I was reading the story hoping that Leigh Russell would pull some unseen twist out of the bag, but no, the killer in this tale couldn’t be more obvious and it was such a letdown for a story that had real potential. Seasoned readers of this genre will also work out the killer from this scene (and if you don’t then you’ll at least end up being half right).
I found it hard to empathise with Julie and never really liked her much as a character. Yes her husband cheated on her and yes their marriage was in trouble, but there’s just such a lack of emotion there when she discovers his body that she doesn’t even grieve for the marriage and what it once stood for. Instead we are expected to believe that she is happy about it. She can’t have one item of her husband’s in their home however she is happy to keep living in said home and makes frequent mentions of how she will be an extremely wealthy widow once she’s cleared of his murder (I think her upcoming wealth was mentioned about five times in as many pages). Her morals clearly don’t stretch as far as giving up the home and life that her husband bankrolled. She becomes almost unstable and the story nearly got a little exciting when she went off on the run, only to then be apprehended by the police, having to then resort to proving her innocence with the help of a cliched cardboard cut out private detective. Considering Leigh Russell has written so many crime novels, the policing element here was shocking. Okay Julie was determined to prove her innocence but the police do nothing in this story other than suspect her. The lengths Julie goes to in order to prove her innocence were clearly signs of a desperate woman, however the case against her by the police would never be strong enough to convince a jury and so that desperation felt forced because it wasn’t completely necessary.
Her son Dan was somebody who had potential but was wasted as a character. One minute he hates his supposed murderous mum, the next he wants to be with her. Rinse and repeat this until the denouement. The rest of the characters I can’t even talk about because one of them is of course the killer who as said earlier was as clear as day. There’s just nothing here to get excited about.
I suppose the best way to describe The Adulterer’s Wife is a story of missed opportunities. I hate reading a story where I have worked out the plot before it’s even begun but at least here that was a sign of incredibly poor plotting. The Adulterer’s Wife reads like a debut novel from an aspiring thriller writer, not the work of a veteran of the crime genre and so I cannot recommend this book to anybody who wants an exciting, gripping, thrilling and character-driven drama because this story contains none of those things. Someone please recommend me an amazing psychological thriller because the ones I’ve been reading recently are not doing it for me.
May 27, 2018
This is my first Leigh Russell novel and having read and thoroughly enjoyed it I was pleased to discover she has already written 15 or so books so there is obviously a few more for me to read now.
Julie is shell shocked when she learns that her husband Paul is having an affair. With her son currently taking important exams, she decides not to confront her husband until after her son has finished his exams. But her plan is shattered when she finds her husband Paul dead in bed. The police are called in to investigate this mysterious death and Julia is forced to prove her innocence.
This is a fast paced psychological thriller that will keep you guessing and wondering which characters to trust.
I would like to thank both Net Galley and Bloodhound books for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Julie is shell shocked when she learns that her husband Paul is having an affair. With her son currently taking important exams, she decides not to confront her husband until after her son has finished his exams. But her plan is shattered when she finds her husband Paul dead in bed. The police are called in to investigate this mysterious death and Julia is forced to prove her innocence.
This is a fast paced psychological thriller that will keep you guessing and wondering which characters to trust.
I would like to thank both Net Galley and Bloodhound books for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
May 3, 2018
4.5 Stars
When Julie finds out that her husband of 20 years has been cheating on her for over 2 years, she is devastated. The mother of a disabled teenager, she doesn't know where to turn. Does she want to confront him? Pack his clothes and throw him out? She decides to do nothing for the moment as her son is testing for college classes.
Julie gets up early one morning, and seeing her husband sleeping peacefully, she eases out of bed so not to wake him. Actually, she'd like to thrown boiling water on him, but restrains herself. She gets dressed, fixes breakfast, and then takes her son to school.
It is only when she comes home and finds him still sleeping that she feels something is wrong. Thinking he might be ill, she shakes him until she realizes that he's not sick ... he's dead.
From there it becomes a living nightmare for Julie. The police are certain that she killed him, but how or why becomes a mystery ...until they discover he was a cheater. She hires a down on his luck private investigator who seems to do nothing more than cheat Julie out of money. Her son goes to his grandparents to stay temporarily ... but it seems he thinks she killed his father.
Everything she does ... every time she tries to protect her son from the truth about his father ... is all suspect and she winds up in handcuffs and behind bars. With a lawyer who doesn't seem to believe her, she only has one chance ... find her husband's killer herself.
When she delves into her husband's secret life, she find more than she bargained for .. and in more danger than she could ever imagine.
I have read this author's Geraldine Steele series and I found each one of her books well written and. I was hoping this one would be the same .... and I was not disappointed, although at tense moments, I kept looking for Geraldine to raise her head. This is an intense. gripping thriller that starts on the first page and doesn't stop until the very surprising ending.
Many thanks to the author / Bloodhound Books / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy of this Psychological Thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
When Julie finds out that her husband of 20 years has been cheating on her for over 2 years, she is devastated. The mother of a disabled teenager, she doesn't know where to turn. Does she want to confront him? Pack his clothes and throw him out? She decides to do nothing for the moment as her son is testing for college classes.
Julie gets up early one morning, and seeing her husband sleeping peacefully, she eases out of bed so not to wake him. Actually, she'd like to thrown boiling water on him, but restrains herself. She gets dressed, fixes breakfast, and then takes her son to school.
It is only when she comes home and finds him still sleeping that she feels something is wrong. Thinking he might be ill, she shakes him until she realizes that he's not sick ... he's dead.
From there it becomes a living nightmare for Julie. The police are certain that she killed him, but how or why becomes a mystery ...until they discover he was a cheater. She hires a down on his luck private investigator who seems to do nothing more than cheat Julie out of money. Her son goes to his grandparents to stay temporarily ... but it seems he thinks she killed his father.
Everything she does ... every time she tries to protect her son from the truth about his father ... is all suspect and she winds up in handcuffs and behind bars. With a lawyer who doesn't seem to believe her, she only has one chance ... find her husband's killer herself.
When she delves into her husband's secret life, she find more than she bargained for .. and in more danger than she could ever imagine.
I have read this author's Geraldine Steele series and I found each one of her books well written and. I was hoping this one would be the same .... and I was not disappointed, although at tense moments, I kept looking for Geraldine to raise her head. This is an intense. gripping thriller that starts on the first page and doesn't stop until the very surprising ending.
Many thanks to the author / Bloodhound Books / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy of this Psychological Thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
April 23, 2018
This is the first book I have read by this author, I know shocking. What an introduction though.
I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Julie. Not only has she found out her husband is having an affair, he then dies. Obviously the fact that she is the closest person to her husband, she becomes the main suspect.
It really surprised me how some of the closest people in Julie’s life react to her. Goes to show you don’t really know people until something bad happens. I was as frustrated and as angry as Julie was. The police seem to be more than useless looking at no one other than Julie herself. This forces Julie to take matters into her own hands to try and get to the bottom of her husbands death.
This is one of those stories that has you second guessing and not knowing who to really trust. Sometimes I wished Julie would leave well alone as she seemed to be making things worse. The more she digs though the more secrets and lies unfold.
The Adulterer’s Wife is a dark and brooding read that had me hooked throughout. It certainly kept me guessing right up until all is revealed. Will certainly be reading more by the author. A must read for fans of psychological thrillers.
My thanks to Bloodhound Books for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.
I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Julie. Not only has she found out her husband is having an affair, he then dies. Obviously the fact that she is the closest person to her husband, she becomes the main suspect.
It really surprised me how some of the closest people in Julie’s life react to her. Goes to show you don’t really know people until something bad happens. I was as frustrated and as angry as Julie was. The police seem to be more than useless looking at no one other than Julie herself. This forces Julie to take matters into her own hands to try and get to the bottom of her husbands death.
This is one of those stories that has you second guessing and not knowing who to really trust. Sometimes I wished Julie would leave well alone as she seemed to be making things worse. The more she digs though the more secrets and lies unfold.
The Adulterer’s Wife is a dark and brooding read that had me hooked throughout. It certainly kept me guessing right up until all is revealed. Will certainly be reading more by the author. A must read for fans of psychological thrillers.
My thanks to Bloodhound Books for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.
May 17, 2018
The adulterer's wife had a suspenseful family drama with murder theme going as the base of the plot.
Husband Paul having affair and wife Julie finding out is the family drama part, the twist comes when the husband is murdered and the clues point to the wife.
Then it is a quick easy breezy read, with lies and secrets with the Julie investigating to get to the truth. My first book by the author, other than the slow pace, I enjoyed the story. The parts where Julie shows her determination and her fearless side while being alone and framed made me cheer for her and made me like her.
On the whole, adulterer's wife proved her innocence with an enjoyable read.
Husband Paul having affair and wife Julie finding out is the family drama part, the twist comes when the husband is murdered and the clues point to the wife.
Then it is a quick easy breezy read, with lies and secrets with the Julie investigating to get to the truth. My first book by the author, other than the slow pace, I enjoyed the story. The parts where Julie shows her determination and her fearless side while being alone and framed made me cheer for her and made me like her.
On the whole, adulterer's wife proved her innocence with an enjoyable read.
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June 6, 2018I’m afraid this is a DNF for me. The protagonist is so ridiculous in her behavior, I just can’t bring to continue. Other readers have obviously enjoyed this book, but it’s sadly just not for me:-(
December 5, 2018
A lot of eye rolling and WTFs. Wish I could get the hours back I persisted with this.
Summary: wife discovers husband had an affair. Husband dies. Police suspect wife of murdering husband. Wife attempts to prove her innocence.
The plot was illogical and the police procedural aspects totally unbelievable. The police didn't look any further than the wife to close their case. However, they apparently conducted interviews with certain players which should have led any police officer with half a brain cell to solve this case within days. If you read the first few chapters carefully, it is clear who the killer has to be.
The protagonist did one stupid thing after another (after continually declaring she wasn't going to do what she then proceeded to do). I lost count how many times she stated that she would be financially very well off after her husband's will was sorted (because obviously that was extremely important, never mind that her son lost his father and she was the main suspect in said father's murder). In the meantime, she had hardly any money, so she had to steal clothes, had no food etc but she kept using cabs to get around...
She lied to everyone, including her son. Apparently, this was to protect him, but most of the time, it just didn't make sense. And then there were all these little things that just seemed amateurish, e.g. why would her husband change his phone's password to his date of birth if he was trying to keep stuff secret?
Anyway, I felt neither empathy nor any connection with the protagonist and still keep wondering why the heck I didn't DNF this. I listened to the audible version, and this has become my first ever audio that I've returned and requested a refund. I should have read the audible reviews before starting this.
Summary: wife discovers husband had an affair. Husband dies. Police suspect wife of murdering husband. Wife attempts to prove her innocence.
The plot was illogical and the police procedural aspects totally unbelievable. The police didn't look any further than the wife to close their case. However, they apparently conducted interviews with certain players which should have led any police officer with half a brain cell to solve this case within days. If you read the first few chapters carefully, it is clear who the killer has to be.
The protagonist did one stupid thing after another (after continually declaring she wasn't going to do what she then proceeded to do). I lost count how many times she stated that she would be financially very well off after her husband's will was sorted (because obviously that was extremely important, never mind that her son lost his father and she was the main suspect in said father's murder). In the meantime, she had hardly any money, so she had to steal clothes, had no food etc but she kept using cabs to get around...
She lied to everyone, including her son. Apparently, this was to protect him, but most of the time, it just didn't make sense. And then there were all these little things that just seemed amateurish, e.g. why would her husband change his phone's password to his date of birth if he was trying to keep stuff secret?
Anyway, I felt neither empathy nor any connection with the protagonist and still keep wondering why the heck I didn't DNF this. I listened to the audible version, and this has become my first ever audio that I've returned and requested a refund. I should have read the audible reviews before starting this.
June 6, 2018
Julie is devastated to learn that her husband, Paul, is having an affair. It seems her life can’t get any worse - until she comes home to find his dead body in their bed.
When the police establish he was murdered, Julie is the obvious suspect.
To protect her son from the terrible situation, Julie sends the teenage boy to his grandparents in Edinburgh while she fights to prove her innocence.
With all the evidence pointing to her, the only way she can escape conviction is by discovering the true identity of her husband’s killer.
But who really did murder Paul?
The truth is never straightforward…
Lies and more lies. I loved this book! Absolutely nothing to say about it or else there will be spoilers. I read this book in one sitting. Want to know more? … Read it! 5*
When the police establish he was murdered, Julie is the obvious suspect.
To protect her son from the terrible situation, Julie sends the teenage boy to his grandparents in Edinburgh while she fights to prove her innocence.
With all the evidence pointing to her, the only way she can escape conviction is by discovering the true identity of her husband’s killer.
But who really did murder Paul?
The truth is never straightforward…
Lies and more lies. I loved this book! Absolutely nothing to say about it or else there will be spoilers. I read this book in one sitting. Want to know more? … Read it! 5*
May 11, 2018
3.5*
Life as she knows it ends for Julie when Paul, her husband of 20 years, forgets his phone and she sees some compromising texts. The only thing that stops her from confronting him straight away is the fact that their son Dan is sitting his final school exams and is stressed enough already. However once they are over she intends to deal with it. Unfortunately for her she never gets the chance because a short time after Paul is found dead and it transpires not from natural causes. Of course the police make Julie their number one suspect and she ends up in a whole heap of trouble. Her nightmare begins!
With a cast of duplicitous and unreliable characters, this story is pure suspense. I didn’t find it easy to engage with Julie and at times found it difficult to get on her side. The story is told from her perspective and there were times when I wanted to shake some sense into her as some of her actions seemed so ridiculous and each bad decision led to another bad outcome. Then, there were other occasions when I felt immense sympathy for her, especially when having to deal with Dan’s grandparents who were not the easiest of in-laws.
The suspense increases throughout the book as we follow Julie’s attempts to find out who killed her husband, leading to a dramatic conclusion. Many of the characters are either unlikeable and/or untrustworthy and when those closest to her distance themselves from her it was clear that she was on her own and it was up to her to prove her innocence.
Having read and enjoyed a few of Leigh’s longstanding police procedural series, I was looking forward to a change of direction with this standalone thriller. I have to be honest. I wasn’t entirely convinced about some aspects of the story; I’m not a fan of first person narratives generally and I think that’s probably why the book didn’t entirely work for me. This is just my personal opinion and other people will have their own preferences. Having said that, I did enjoy it, it was an extremely readable and addictive story and unusually for me, I raced through it in just a few hours.
I understand that this is the author’s first psychological thriller, in which case it gets off to a flying start. I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next time.
Life as she knows it ends for Julie when Paul, her husband of 20 years, forgets his phone and she sees some compromising texts. The only thing that stops her from confronting him straight away is the fact that their son Dan is sitting his final school exams and is stressed enough already. However once they are over she intends to deal with it. Unfortunately for her she never gets the chance because a short time after Paul is found dead and it transpires not from natural causes. Of course the police make Julie their number one suspect and she ends up in a whole heap of trouble. Her nightmare begins!
With a cast of duplicitous and unreliable characters, this story is pure suspense. I didn’t find it easy to engage with Julie and at times found it difficult to get on her side. The story is told from her perspective and there were times when I wanted to shake some sense into her as some of her actions seemed so ridiculous and each bad decision led to another bad outcome. Then, there were other occasions when I felt immense sympathy for her, especially when having to deal with Dan’s grandparents who were not the easiest of in-laws.
The suspense increases throughout the book as we follow Julie’s attempts to find out who killed her husband, leading to a dramatic conclusion. Many of the characters are either unlikeable and/or untrustworthy and when those closest to her distance themselves from her it was clear that she was on her own and it was up to her to prove her innocence.
Having read and enjoyed a few of Leigh’s longstanding police procedural series, I was looking forward to a change of direction with this standalone thriller. I have to be honest. I wasn’t entirely convinced about some aspects of the story; I’m not a fan of first person narratives generally and I think that’s probably why the book didn’t entirely work for me. This is just my personal opinion and other people will have their own preferences. Having said that, I did enjoy it, it was an extremely readable and addictive story and unusually for me, I raced through it in just a few hours.
I understand that this is the author’s first psychological thriller, in which case it gets off to a flying start. I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next time.
May 8, 2018
This is the first book I have read by Leigh and is a standalone… I look forward to reading more by Leigh in the future.
Poor Julie I actually felt sorry for her character having to go through so much while being accussed of murder and her son Dan having to deal with it all too. Who can she turn too? Can you even trust your friends or family? Who’s telling the truth? Who’s lying? Can you figure it out? I didn’t.
A real who dunnit with an unexpected explosive outcome I did not see coming, it is not who you would expect! A jaw dropper of an ending. A cleverly written storyline which is easy to read, fast paced and contains short chapters. Brilliant! Devoured this story within 24 hours. A well deserved four stars. Highly recommend!
Poor Julie I actually felt sorry for her character having to go through so much while being accussed of murder and her son Dan having to deal with it all too. Who can she turn too? Can you even trust your friends or family? Who’s telling the truth? Who’s lying? Can you figure it out? I didn’t.
A real who dunnit with an unexpected explosive outcome I did not see coming, it is not who you would expect! A jaw dropper of an ending. A cleverly written storyline which is easy to read, fast paced and contains short chapters. Brilliant! Devoured this story within 24 hours. A well deserved four stars. Highly recommend!
May 5, 2018
Leigh Russell is a new author for me and I loved this book.
Julie discovers her husband Paul has been having affair for two years and is left hurt and shocked by her discovery of text messages between the two of them.
She confides in her two close friends but swears them to secrecy as she doesn’t want to confront him until her son has sat his final GCSE exam.
She doesn’t get the chance though as Paul is found dead the next morning.
The Police don’t believe that Julie had nothing to do with his death and soon she’s charged with his murder.
Julie desperately tries to prove her innocence but nothing can prepare her for what she discovers about those closest to her.
This is a gripping read and will have you racing through the pages towards the end as you’ll be desparate to know how it all ends.
Thanks to Bloodhound Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.
Julie discovers her husband Paul has been having affair for two years and is left hurt and shocked by her discovery of text messages between the two of them.
She confides in her two close friends but swears them to secrecy as she doesn’t want to confront him until her son has sat his final GCSE exam.
She doesn’t get the chance though as Paul is found dead the next morning.
The Police don’t believe that Julie had nothing to do with his death and soon she’s charged with his murder.
Julie desperately tries to prove her innocence but nothing can prepare her for what she discovers about those closest to her.
This is a gripping read and will have you racing through the pages towards the end as you’ll be desparate to know how it all ends.
Thanks to Bloodhound Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.
May 13, 2018
This is my first read by this author and I loved it.
Julie is left devastated when she finds out her husband Paul has been having an affair. She thinks life can’t get any worse, that is until she finds her husband dead in their bed. Life gets even worse when she finds out she’s the main suspect.
Julie needs to find out who killed Paul but she’s definitely not prepared for what she does find out.
I enjoyed this story and read it in a day. I thought the story was well thought out. I’ll definitely be reading more from this author in the future.
Julie is left devastated when she finds out her husband Paul has been having an affair. She thinks life can’t get any worse, that is until she finds her husband dead in their bed. Life gets even worse when she finds out she’s the main suspect.
Julie needs to find out who killed Paul but she’s definitely not prepared for what she does find out.
I enjoyed this story and read it in a day. I thought the story was well thought out. I’ll definitely be reading more from this author in the future.
April 13, 2018
I have heard good things about Leigh Russell and read several reviews of how good her other books are. So, I was excited to read this. But for me personally, I thought this was so farfetched it was unbelievable.
The Adulterer’s wife is about Julie and Paul. Julie has found out that her husband Paul is cheating on her. But, they don’t want to tell their son Dan who has Cerebral Palsy because he has exams. So the next night, Julie goes out with her friends Nina and Karen and comes home drunk. She gets into bed but husband Paul does not wake. The next morning, she goes to drop Dan at school letting Paul have a lie in. But when she gets home she realises that Paul is dead in bed. Julie is accused of his murder.
Julie then goes out, to found out what really happened and to confirm her innocence in all this. But the things she does in the process of it just makes her look guiltier. I understand that her husband cheated on her but boy, you would still have a little feeling towards her husband of 19 years and a father to your 17-year-old son, wouldn’t you? Julie I found her to be cold and callous and all she was thinking of was getting hold of the money.
I had high hopes for this book but, I thought this was unbelievable and very predictable. The premise was good but it didn’t deliver. I laughed in places because how unbelievable this story sounded and the ended well I won’t spoil it for you, you will have to read it yourself.
Thank you Netgalley and Bloodhound books for a copy of this book.
The Adulterer’s wife is about Julie and Paul. Julie has found out that her husband Paul is cheating on her. But, they don’t want to tell their son Dan who has Cerebral Palsy because he has exams. So the next night, Julie goes out with her friends Nina and Karen and comes home drunk. She gets into bed but husband Paul does not wake. The next morning, she goes to drop Dan at school letting Paul have a lie in. But when she gets home she realises that Paul is dead in bed. Julie is accused of his murder.
Julie then goes out, to found out what really happened and to confirm her innocence in all this. But the things she does in the process of it just makes her look guiltier. I understand that her husband cheated on her but boy, you would still have a little feeling towards her husband of 19 years and a father to your 17-year-old son, wouldn’t you? Julie I found her to be cold and callous and all she was thinking of was getting hold of the money.
I had high hopes for this book but, I thought this was unbelievable and very predictable. The premise was good but it didn’t deliver. I laughed in places because how unbelievable this story sounded and the ended well I won’t spoil it for you, you will have to read it yourself.
Thank you Netgalley and Bloodhound books for a copy of this book.
May 12, 2018
I was definitely intrigued to find out that Leigh Russell had written a standalone psychological thriller as I have really enjoyed her Geraldine Steel and Lucy Hall books in recent years. And after reading The Adulterers Wife, I hope this isn’t a one off and we can look forward to more standalones in the future!
So Julie’s husband leaves his phone at home one day and as many of us would (well, some would anyway!!) she looks at his messages and gets a shock when she sees messages from another woman. But her son is in the middle of his exams and Julie doesn’t want to disrupt this important time for him so decides to leave any decisions about her marriage until the exam period is over. She tells her girlfriends who encourage her to throw the lying cheating creep out and she decides she will. But after waking up from a night out, she discovers him dead in their marital bed. Julie becomes the main suspect in his murder and what follows is a race against time to prove her innocence.
I have to start by saying that Julie wasn’t always the most likeable of characters here and she made some VERY questionable decisions that really didn’t help her cause at all! As a mother I totally got her determination to have her son protected from the fallout of first his fathers adultery and then his death but her over protectiveness became a barrier to her ability to protect herself! And every step forward that Julie took to prove her innocence usually ended up with her taking more than a few steps back as she makes matters worse. In the end she decides to just go ahead and risk everything to find Paul’s murderer. But there are many puzzles for her to unravel first and plenty of shocking twists still to come before the last few gripping pages finally give up their secrets.
Leigh Russell can certainly write an involving and gripping storyline so I was swept away very quickly into the terrifying world of prime suspect number one! I felt every frustration that followed Julie’s hunt for the truth, even though I wanted to scream at her occasionally to stop being so bloody minded!! I think it helped that I felt sorry for her as she seemed to have the most “fair weather” friends in the entire world!! Honestly, surely real friends should be there for you through the good times AND the bad? But no, at the slightest sign of trouble they bailed! And Julie really is then left alone so seeks help in the most unlikely of places.
I would probably like to have seen a little more development of Dan, Julie and Paul’s son, as the mother/son relationship is always an intriguing plot thread for me personally. But the female friendships more than made up for this plus the unusual chemistry between Julie and the private detective that she hired to help her.
All in all this is a very readable book that I sat and devoured in one sunny afternoon. It’s easy to become involved in the characters misfortune even if that involvement does come with a high dose of perverse pleasure from watching other people’s domestic dilemmas. Just remember that you never know what goes on behind closed doors so don’t be as quick to judge as Julie’s friends and family are!
The Adulterers Wife is a nice departure for Leigh Russell but she done so without losing that magic touch her fans have come to expect from her previous books. A well written, fast paced and engaging psychological thriller
So Julie’s husband leaves his phone at home one day and as many of us would (well, some would anyway!!) she looks at his messages and gets a shock when she sees messages from another woman. But her son is in the middle of his exams and Julie doesn’t want to disrupt this important time for him so decides to leave any decisions about her marriage until the exam period is over. She tells her girlfriends who encourage her to throw the lying cheating creep out and she decides she will. But after waking up from a night out, she discovers him dead in their marital bed. Julie becomes the main suspect in his murder and what follows is a race against time to prove her innocence.
I have to start by saying that Julie wasn’t always the most likeable of characters here and she made some VERY questionable decisions that really didn’t help her cause at all! As a mother I totally got her determination to have her son protected from the fallout of first his fathers adultery and then his death but her over protectiveness became a barrier to her ability to protect herself! And every step forward that Julie took to prove her innocence usually ended up with her taking more than a few steps back as she makes matters worse. In the end she decides to just go ahead and risk everything to find Paul’s murderer. But there are many puzzles for her to unravel first and plenty of shocking twists still to come before the last few gripping pages finally give up their secrets.
Leigh Russell can certainly write an involving and gripping storyline so I was swept away very quickly into the terrifying world of prime suspect number one! I felt every frustration that followed Julie’s hunt for the truth, even though I wanted to scream at her occasionally to stop being so bloody minded!! I think it helped that I felt sorry for her as she seemed to have the most “fair weather” friends in the entire world!! Honestly, surely real friends should be there for you through the good times AND the bad? But no, at the slightest sign of trouble they bailed! And Julie really is then left alone so seeks help in the most unlikely of places.
I would probably like to have seen a little more development of Dan, Julie and Paul’s son, as the mother/son relationship is always an intriguing plot thread for me personally. But the female friendships more than made up for this plus the unusual chemistry between Julie and the private detective that she hired to help her.
All in all this is a very readable book that I sat and devoured in one sunny afternoon. It’s easy to become involved in the characters misfortune even if that involvement does come with a high dose of perverse pleasure from watching other people’s domestic dilemmas. Just remember that you never know what goes on behind closed doors so don’t be as quick to judge as Julie’s friends and family are!
The Adulterers Wife is a nice departure for Leigh Russell but she done so without losing that magic touch her fans have come to expect from her previous books. A well written, fast paced and engaging psychological thriller
May 11, 2018
This was new ground for Leigh Russell as she moves from her police procedural stories to a psychological thriller. Julie is devastated when she discovers that her husband of 19 years has been cheating on her. Ok she knew that things had cooled off a little between them but she thought that they were alright. Julie is faced with a decision, carry on and hope the affair fizzles out or confront him. After going out of her mind for a week she finally confides in her two closest friends but before she can take any action she finds him dead in their bed. And what’s more is that the police think that she killed him!
Sometimes you need to experience a situation before you understand all the emotions that you go though when you find that your husband has been cheating. It is no good-looking in and thinking I wouldn’t do that because believe me going through it is totally different. Julie’s emotions run really high, especially after he died, to the point of you can feel the hate coming from the pages the more her life falls apart. After all she has even been cheated out of throwing him out! and now she is loosing everything, including her son. When the police become one tracked minded that Julie is the murderer she has to take radical actions to prove her innocence.
Just when you think things can’t get any worse they always do with poor Julie always seeming to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Leigh Russell keeps the tension tight with character that all seem like they have something to hide. I wouldn’t trust any of them but when you have no-one then beggars can’t be choosers. It is one of those stories that I didn’t know if Julie was being stitched up or if she was just caught up in the whole thing.
This was a story that just kept giving as I kept thinking super end then it continued, loved it. Julie was certainly a new woman when it was all over. I really enjoyed this thriller that I easily read in an afternoon sitting.
Sometimes you need to experience a situation before you understand all the emotions that you go though when you find that your husband has been cheating. It is no good-looking in and thinking I wouldn’t do that because believe me going through it is totally different. Julie’s emotions run really high, especially after he died, to the point of you can feel the hate coming from the pages the more her life falls apart. After all she has even been cheated out of throwing him out! and now she is loosing everything, including her son. When the police become one tracked minded that Julie is the murderer she has to take radical actions to prove her innocence.
Just when you think things can’t get any worse they always do with poor Julie always seeming to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Leigh Russell keeps the tension tight with character that all seem like they have something to hide. I wouldn’t trust any of them but when you have no-one then beggars can’t be choosers. It is one of those stories that I didn’t know if Julie was being stitched up or if she was just caught up in the whole thing.
This was a story that just kept giving as I kept thinking super end then it continued, loved it. Julie was certainly a new woman when it was all over. I really enjoyed this thriller that I easily read in an afternoon sitting.
May 8, 2018
I really felt for Julie in her predicament even if I didn’t’ agree with all her actions or timing of her actions. I soon got hooked in to this first stand-alone by Leigh Russel.
This is a turbulent story of one disastrous finding out affecting Julie and her son, in the worst possible way imaginable.
Russell weaves her story and plotlines in such a way that you feel you are stood next to Julie taking each step, battling alongside her.
As you continually turn the pages, in this addictive read you are wondering what else life can throw at her.
At times I had the hair on the back of my neck standing up and a chill in my spine, and a wondering of what I would do in the same situation.
A devilish and dark tale of intrigue and mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed reading my first Leigh Russel book, and it won’t be the last, a page turning suspense read, that kept me on my toes.
This is a turbulent story of one disastrous finding out affecting Julie and her son, in the worst possible way imaginable.
Russell weaves her story and plotlines in such a way that you feel you are stood next to Julie taking each step, battling alongside her.
As you continually turn the pages, in this addictive read you are wondering what else life can throw at her.
At times I had the hair on the back of my neck standing up and a chill in my spine, and a wondering of what I would do in the same situation.
A devilish and dark tale of intrigue and mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed reading my first Leigh Russel book, and it won’t be the last, a page turning suspense read, that kept me on my toes.
May 7, 2018
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I have read quite a few books by this author now and they have always been great reads and very enjoyable so I was really keen to get my hands on her latest release – The Adulterer’s Wife!
This book is unlike the others that I have read by Leigh (the previous books I have read have been more crime fiction and police procedural). I enjoyed it as a good psychological thriller but I did guess the ending and who was responsible very early on and felt that the plot was a little weak because of this. The writing style was good and as I have come to expect from this author and I enjoyed the plot but it was lacking slightly for me so 3 stars from me for this one
I have read quite a few books by this author now and they have always been great reads and very enjoyable so I was really keen to get my hands on her latest release – The Adulterer’s Wife!
This book is unlike the others that I have read by Leigh (the previous books I have read have been more crime fiction and police procedural). I enjoyed it as a good psychological thriller but I did guess the ending and who was responsible very early on and felt that the plot was a little weak because of this. The writing style was good and as I have come to expect from this author and I enjoyed the plot but it was lacking slightly for me so 3 stars from me for this one
May 12, 2018
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The Adulterer’s Wife is my first read by Leigh Russell. The main character Julie finds out her husband Paul is having an affair. She is understandably upset and is wondering what to do when she finds him dead in their bed. Because the police find out Paul was a cheater they assume Julie is the murderer. Since the police suspect her, Julie feels her only chance is to find out who the real killer is.
I had mixed feelings about Julie’s character. At times she aggravated me when she was doing things that seemed to make her situation worse. At other times I felt bad for her and her situation. None of the other characters were really that remarkable or likable.
This was a quick read for me since I was unable to put it down. I would recommend this to others who enjoy this genre. I can’t wait to read more from this author. Thank you Leigh Russell, NetGalley and Bloodhound Books for providing me with a copy of this book to read.
May 6, 2018
The Adulterer’s Wife by Leigh Russell
Hmmm…as I read I kept thinking…Really? The story seemed at times more of a comedy than a murder mystery and if done as a movie would need to be done as a spoof…perhaps… I did not connect with the characters at all and could never understand the thinking processes or actions of Julie. Since I don’t want to give the plot away and since the blurb says that Paul, Julie’s husband has been murdered I will only say that at no point in this book could I see myself behaving as Julie did. I am really trying to find something that I can say that I liked in the story...and I am coming up empty handed.
Did I like Julie? No
Was the plot believable? No
Would I read another book by this author? Maybe
Who do I recommend this book to? Not sure
I did see that this author has series of books that some people love and have read reviews by others who found this book worthy of five stars but…that reader is not me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloodhound Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.
2 Stars
Hmmm…as I read I kept thinking…Really? The story seemed at times more of a comedy than a murder mystery and if done as a movie would need to be done as a spoof…perhaps… I did not connect with the characters at all and could never understand the thinking processes or actions of Julie. Since I don’t want to give the plot away and since the blurb says that Paul, Julie’s husband has been murdered I will only say that at no point in this book could I see myself behaving as Julie did. I am really trying to find something that I can say that I liked in the story...and I am coming up empty handed.
Did I like Julie? No
Was the plot believable? No
Would I read another book by this author? Maybe
Who do I recommend this book to? Not sure
I did see that this author has series of books that some people love and have read reviews by others who found this book worthy of five stars but…that reader is not me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloodhound Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.
2 Stars
April 6, 2018
Oh this book. It had all the makings of being great but it just fell flat.
Julie finds out her husband has an affair. She decides to not confront him until after her sons exams. Her son was born with cerebal palsy and basically her entire life has revolved around helping him.
Julie found out about the affair through a text message. Her husband Paul had left his phone at home by accident.
This is where the surreal feeling of the book starts. Instead of just A) Pretending she did not see the message or B) Confronting her husband about the message but tell him to not mention it to their son, Julie does C.
And C is destroying the entire phone and sim card, dumping the contents in various places around town and act like nothing is wrong.
Julie goes out on the town with her friends, puts away a couple of drinks and then goes to sleep at home. In the morning, Paul is still sleeping next to her she assumes so she goes downstairs and gets their son ready for school.
When she comes back home, he is still in bed and she finds out he is dead. The police get involved and an investigation is started with Julie as the main suspect.
I will not give away any further spoilers but the book is highly unbelievable. The son Dan came off to me as a very whiny 17 year old boy who jumped between shouting at his mother about why she killed his dad and saying he loves her and believes she is innocent.
Julie herself is even more annoying. She makes various stupid decisions, does not follow any logic and seems almost surprised when she gets in trouble.
The ending was even more ridiculous. The whodunit was just hastily revealed, in a very unbelievable way. This book had the makings of being really good but it just did not deliver. 2 stars.
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review.
Julie finds out her husband has an affair. She decides to not confront him until after her sons exams. Her son was born with cerebal palsy and basically her entire life has revolved around helping him.
Julie found out about the affair through a text message. Her husband Paul had left his phone at home by accident.
This is where the surreal feeling of the book starts. Instead of just A) Pretending she did not see the message or B) Confronting her husband about the message but tell him to not mention it to their son, Julie does C.
And C is destroying the entire phone and sim card, dumping the contents in various places around town and act like nothing is wrong.
Julie goes out on the town with her friends, puts away a couple of drinks and then goes to sleep at home. In the morning, Paul is still sleeping next to her she assumes so she goes downstairs and gets their son ready for school.
When she comes back home, he is still in bed and she finds out he is dead. The police get involved and an investigation is started with Julie as the main suspect.
I will not give away any further spoilers but the book is highly unbelievable. The son Dan came off to me as a very whiny 17 year old boy who jumped between shouting at his mother about why she killed his dad and saying he loves her and believes she is innocent.
Julie herself is even more annoying. She makes various stupid decisions, does not follow any logic and seems almost surprised when she gets in trouble.
The ending was even more ridiculous. The whodunit was just hastily revealed, in a very unbelievable way. This book had the makings of being really good but it just did not deliver. 2 stars.
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review.
May 8, 2018
I am a massive fan of Leigh's both the DI Geraldine Steel, DS Ian Peterson and Lucy Hall so you can image my excitement when I found out Leigh was moving out of her comfort zone with a standalone psychological thriller. I have lost track of how many times I have said this but once again I went into this story without reading the blurb knowing that it was by an author's writing that I knew well and I sure has hell wasn't disappointed.
Hooked from the very first page I was taken on roller coaster journey following Julie's story. Image finding out that your husband is having an affair to finding him dead in bed?! This is what happens to Julie and it is just the start of her nightmare. Leigh weaves a story that will have you guessing until the very end. I couldn't help but emphasize with Julie she is a brilliant character I found myself flying through this story, in fact I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out what was going to happen next. It is full of twists and turns that will certainly take you by surprise.
Being a fan of Leigh's I could tell this was written by her, has always it is a flowing paced easy read and has always it isn't to descriptive so the story lets your imagination do the work. You can feel the tension and mystery throughout the story leaving me a jittering wreck. When the story steps up and apace or two OMG Leigh Russell what are you doing to me lol I love the fact that she hasn't changed her writing style and I really hope that Leigh writes more stories in this genre.
The Adulterer's Wife is a truly entertaining read which I highly recommend giving it 4 stars.
Thank you to Sarah Hardy for inviting me to take part in this fab tour.
Hooked from the very first page I was taken on roller coaster journey following Julie's story. Image finding out that your husband is having an affair to finding him dead in bed?! This is what happens to Julie and it is just the start of her nightmare. Leigh weaves a story that will have you guessing until the very end. I couldn't help but emphasize with Julie she is a brilliant character I found myself flying through this story, in fact I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out what was going to happen next. It is full of twists and turns that will certainly take you by surprise.
Being a fan of Leigh's I could tell this was written by her, has always it is a flowing paced easy read and has always it isn't to descriptive so the story lets your imagination do the work. You can feel the tension and mystery throughout the story leaving me a jittering wreck. When the story steps up and apace or two OMG Leigh Russell what are you doing to me lol I love the fact that she hasn't changed her writing style and I really hope that Leigh writes more stories in this genre.
The Adulterer's Wife is a truly entertaining read which I highly recommend giving it 4 stars.
Thank you to Sarah Hardy for inviting me to take part in this fab tour.
May 7, 2018
I have read Leigh Russell's crime novels since she began, and enjoyed them very much. Imagine how intrigued I was to find that she has signed with my favourite publisher Bloodhound Books, to write a standalone psychological thriller.
The action started on page one when Julie finds out about her husband Paul's infidelity then goes on to confide in a friend. A week later Paul is killed in their bed and Julie appears to be the only person who has both the opportunity and the motive, and the police seem dead set on convicting her for murder. I hope this is the start of more like this to come from Leigh Russell.
The action started on page one when Julie finds out about her husband Paul's infidelity then goes on to confide in a friend. A week later Paul is killed in their bed and Julie appears to be the only person who has both the opportunity and the motive, and the police seem dead set on convicting her for murder. I hope this is the start of more like this to come from Leigh Russell.
April 29, 2018
Julie gets up one morning and gives her son breakfast and takes him to school and it's only when she gets home she realises her husband is still in bed but when she tries to wake him she finds out he is dead. Of course that puts her under suspicion as how could she not know he was dead! then when it is found he was smothered in his sleep Julie is the prime suspect for murdering him and no one seems to believe she had nothing to do with it. She needs to solve the murder herself and employs a dubious private eye to help her but he seems to be more incompetent than helpful.
I enjoyed the book and the change from her usual police novels as this was from a totally different perspective, I did feel that I lost sympathy for Julie as the book went on and some of her decisions were downright stupid but on the whole I could see the reasoning behind them.
I do hope Miss Russell will write more like this.
Thank you to NetGalley for my copy.
I enjoyed the book and the change from her usual police novels as this was from a totally different perspective, I did feel that I lost sympathy for Julie as the book went on and some of her decisions were downright stupid but on the whole I could see the reasoning behind them.
I do hope Miss Russell will write more like this.
Thank you to NetGalley for my copy.
May 8, 2018
Julie reads a mesaage on her husband's phone and discovers that he is having an affair. She decides to put off confronting him until after her sons school exams are over, he has a difficult enough time witb his disabilty. She does however tell her girlfriend's about the affair and remarks about how she could kill him. She then discovers him dead in their bed and becomes suspect #1. This story is by the book predictable with alot of uunrealistic drama thrown in. I received a copy of this book from Netgalley to read and review.
April 5, 2018
This is the first book I have read by the author Leigh Russell and after reading this book, it will definitely not be the last! I was hooked from start to finish and found the book unputdownable. I was on a rollercoaster with the main character Julie as she had to prove her innocence in the murder of her husband. I enjoyed getting to know her character, even though sometimes she left me extremely frustrated! This book has been well thought out and written well.
May 11, 2018
The Adulterer’s Wife by Leigh Russell, Leigh has delved into the world of psychological thrillers and grabbed the narrative full force and WoW what a stoater of a read.
The Adulterer’s Wife centres around the death of Julie’s husband Paul, whom the police believe Julie to be the main suspect in his death. Paul was found dead in the marital bed with Julie at his side, unbeknown to her upon waking after a night out with friends she believes he is asleep. What transpires is that Paul is having an affair and Julie doesn’t wish her son to find out until after his exams, as the investigation escalates Julie soon finds out who her friends are. Julie sends her son to his grandparents while she tries to unravel the mysterious death of her husband and clear her name.
Can conviction be avoided, can Julie clear her name, who will stick by Julie, loads of questions needing to be answered and with every turn of the page I came one step closer to finding out. I may have sussed the killer earlier than I expected but there was some damn good twists which still led me a merry little dance.
Leigh wrote The Adulterer’s Wife in a clear and concise manner, allowing me to follow the plotline without becoming over involved in the subtext, leaving me enough to interpret the background and characters, in turn finding discoveries I may have lost out on if the narrative had been over complicated.
The Adulterer’s Wife is not a hard-core psychological thriller with blood guts and gore but an easy read which will enable you to fill your boots with imaginative scenarios and follow the trail of clues scattered throughout the book, to hopefully come to a satisfactory conclusion. Whether you accept your own imaginative answers to who the culprit is anyone’s guess but is that not the way of a psychological thriller, leaving you pondering, rewinding the clues and trying to fathom out where it clicked for you or where you took a wrong turn.
For a first stab at psychological thriller, Leigh has done a damn good job, all that is left for Leigh to do is to go onwards and upwards, I’m sure her next psychological thriller will be bigger and better than the first.
My thanks go to Bloodhound Books, Leigh Russell and Sarah Hardy for the advanced readers copy of The Adulterer’s Wife to read in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Just another thanks to Sarah for allowing me to be part of the Blog Tour for today.
The Adulterer’s Wife centres around the death of Julie’s husband Paul, whom the police believe Julie to be the main suspect in his death. Paul was found dead in the marital bed with Julie at his side, unbeknown to her upon waking after a night out with friends she believes he is asleep. What transpires is that Paul is having an affair and Julie doesn’t wish her son to find out until after his exams, as the investigation escalates Julie soon finds out who her friends are. Julie sends her son to his grandparents while she tries to unravel the mysterious death of her husband and clear her name.
Can conviction be avoided, can Julie clear her name, who will stick by Julie, loads of questions needing to be answered and with every turn of the page I came one step closer to finding out. I may have sussed the killer earlier than I expected but there was some damn good twists which still led me a merry little dance.
Leigh wrote The Adulterer’s Wife in a clear and concise manner, allowing me to follow the plotline without becoming over involved in the subtext, leaving me enough to interpret the background and characters, in turn finding discoveries I may have lost out on if the narrative had been over complicated.
The Adulterer’s Wife is not a hard-core psychological thriller with blood guts and gore but an easy read which will enable you to fill your boots with imaginative scenarios and follow the trail of clues scattered throughout the book, to hopefully come to a satisfactory conclusion. Whether you accept your own imaginative answers to who the culprit is anyone’s guess but is that not the way of a psychological thriller, leaving you pondering, rewinding the clues and trying to fathom out where it clicked for you or where you took a wrong turn.
For a first stab at psychological thriller, Leigh has done a damn good job, all that is left for Leigh to do is to go onwards and upwards, I’m sure her next psychological thriller will be bigger and better than the first.
My thanks go to Bloodhound Books, Leigh Russell and Sarah Hardy for the advanced readers copy of The Adulterer’s Wife to read in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Just another thanks to Sarah for allowing me to be part of the Blog Tour for today.
June 19, 2018
Read a bit amateurish to me. Harsh?
May 13, 2018
I haven't read any of Leigh Russell's acclaimed crime novels but I'll definitely be adding them to my wishlist after reading The Adulterer's Wife. Although I had my suspicions early on about what had happened, and I'll not say if I was right or not, I still really enjoyed the book and found myself being thrown off the scent a little bit by the clever way that Leigh Russell had drawn her characters.
Paul makes the fatal mistake of leaving his mobile at home one day when it pings with a message and his wife, Julie, feels the bottom of her world fall out. As Julie scrolls through the other messages, the evidence is overwhelming: Paul is having an affair. Julie thought he was playing squash on a Tuesday when he was actually playing away with a woman named Bella. When Paul rushes back home to retrieve his phone, Julie hides it and says she hasn't seen it. Rather therapeutically I have to say, Julie takes the SIM card out and smashes the phone with a hammer. Then she stupidly destroys the SIM card - nooooooooooooo, I yelled, you need to keep the evidence! She hadn't even checked his photos.
So phone and marriage destroyed, Julie pretends that everything is ok for the sake of her son, Dan, who is taking his exams. Once Dan's exams are over, Julie plans to kick Paul out. On a night out with her friends, alcohol loosens Julie's tongue and she tells her friends about Paul's affair. Julie is in quite a state when she gets home and when she wakes up the next day she finds Paul dead in the bed beside her. Julie doesn't even shed a single tear; they have been married for 19 years, surely she should feel something! It made me wonder whether Julie was so emotionless because she had killed Paul in a drunken stupor - the police certainly think so. Julie protests her innocence but as the evidence mounts up against her, she turns to several people for help but it's clear that not all can be trusted.
It's odd that I enjoyed the book but I didn't like Julie at all. I really couldn't cope with her lack of emotions when her husband died and perhaps can see why he ended up having an affair. I loved the feeling of Julie running out of time like sand through an hourglass as she tried to escape the clutches of the police. Once they got their hands on her she'd be going to jail as there was enough evidence to link her to Paul's death. The book really made me think about trust and how we take it for granted that we can trust those closest to us but so many people are multi-faceted and you never know which face is the real one.
All in all, I think The Adulterer's Wife is a fast-paced, compulsive domestic noir style thriller.
I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
Paul makes the fatal mistake of leaving his mobile at home one day when it pings with a message and his wife, Julie, feels the bottom of her world fall out. As Julie scrolls through the other messages, the evidence is overwhelming: Paul is having an affair. Julie thought he was playing squash on a Tuesday when he was actually playing away with a woman named Bella. When Paul rushes back home to retrieve his phone, Julie hides it and says she hasn't seen it. Rather therapeutically I have to say, Julie takes the SIM card out and smashes the phone with a hammer. Then she stupidly destroys the SIM card - nooooooooooooo, I yelled, you need to keep the evidence! She hadn't even checked his photos.
So phone and marriage destroyed, Julie pretends that everything is ok for the sake of her son, Dan, who is taking his exams. Once Dan's exams are over, Julie plans to kick Paul out. On a night out with her friends, alcohol loosens Julie's tongue and she tells her friends about Paul's affair. Julie is in quite a state when she gets home and when she wakes up the next day she finds Paul dead in the bed beside her. Julie doesn't even shed a single tear; they have been married for 19 years, surely she should feel something! It made me wonder whether Julie was so emotionless because she had killed Paul in a drunken stupor - the police certainly think so. Julie protests her innocence but as the evidence mounts up against her, she turns to several people for help but it's clear that not all can be trusted.
It's odd that I enjoyed the book but I didn't like Julie at all. I really couldn't cope with her lack of emotions when her husband died and perhaps can see why he ended up having an affair. I loved the feeling of Julie running out of time like sand through an hourglass as she tried to escape the clutches of the police. Once they got their hands on her she'd be going to jail as there was enough evidence to link her to Paul's death. The book really made me think about trust and how we take it for granted that we can trust those closest to us but so many people are multi-faceted and you never know which face is the real one.
All in all, I think The Adulterer's Wife is a fast-paced, compulsive domestic noir style thriller.
I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
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